


Yin of the court

by Emerald_16



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst and Feels, Gen, Humor, LGBTQ Character, Loss of Parent(s), Original Character(s), Romantic Fluff, Self Confidence Issues, Sexual Humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:01:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 23,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24435559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emerald_16/pseuds/Emerald_16
Summary: Tsukiko Kage, some referred to her as a prodigy of the sports, others assumed it was simply in her blood and a few even swore she was simply being forced. But then again people have always assumed things about her, what else would they do when they began to see a six year old climb the ranks in a world of sports. Tsukiko had always had a passion for any activity that required the mind and body, volleyball happened to be her personal favorite, and as word of her gift spread she began to travel the world to watch and teach from a young age. Until she suddenly fled the light, not giving any final words or a grand leave after all of her efforts. It came as a shock to many but things like this always happen, and a name eventually just goes back to being a plain old name. But what happens when this now grown girl shows up into the lives of people who treasure volleyball more than anything else, can they twist her premonition of a nightmare sport and restore it into a dream she once had, or will it only make the infamous yin of the court crumble under the pressure?
Relationships: Iwaizumi Hajime/Original Female Character(s), Kageyama Tobio/Original Female Character(s), Kuroo Tetsurou/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 14





	1. To Fly

“Hinata” her body peaked up at the sound of her friend saying his name, “I see him down there, with his team, man they look so small” she said with a nauseous look.

The girl with pastel purple hair smacked the back of her friend's head and stood up tall, ignoring her friend's pain. “height doesn’t matter when Shoyo has a better gift” her wide violet eyes continued to watch the green team “My cousin can fly.”

“I swear you’re just as crazy as him Tsukiko” the brunette practically growled as she rolled her eyes.

“It’s called persistence Akari” Tsukiko responded before draping her arm around her friends shoulders “you should try it sometime if you want the soccer team to get anywhere this year”

Akari practically exploded at her friend's comments and pointed an accusing finger at her “you dumbass you told me that the team looked promising” she continued to yell in a more agitated tone as Tsukiko snickered “you've been lying to me this whole time? Is that it?”

“Oh calm down Akari” Tsukiko chirped while ruffling the top of the brunette's head “I’m heading to the snack machines, you want anything?”

Akari’s ruby orbs turned from a scowl into a bright happiness as she heard her friends offer of free food, but she knew she was just trying to buy her love again so she tried her best to fake an annoyed pout “some strawberry milk would be nice, I guess” she suggested while slightly peeking at her friend.

Tsukiko nodded “alright I’ll be right back” she said and hurried down so she wouldn’t miss Shoyo’s game ‘it’s his first game ever, I wonder how he’ll take it’ she thought to herself with raised brows and a pensive face. She happened to be so lost in thought that she hadn’t noticed she was walking straight into someone’s back, and her face immediately came into contact as she whined at the pain.

The person she had bumped into shivered as he heard a higher pitched sound of a female, his two friends snickered beside him as they saw his face turn bright red.

“I’m so sorry” Tsukiko immediately apologized as she stepped back from the tall boy, pushing back locks of her wavy hair away from her face “I didn’t realize where I was going.” When her blurry vision finally cleared up she was able to make out writing on the boys back.

“Ah no, it’s okay” the male finally turned as he began to nervously rub the back of his neck, “really, I didn’t even feel anything” he tried to say in a cool manner.

His friends however rolled their eyes at the act their friend was trying to carry “we’re sorry about him” a silver haired boy said with a kind voice “we keep telling him to not stand in the middle of the damn hall” a dark haired boy agreed as he sent a death glare to the boy with a buzz cut.

Tsukiko though stayed perfectly still with a blank look on her face ‘Karasuno’ she repeated in her mind until finally her purple orbs turned bright and her mouth formed into a smile of excitement “you guys are from Karasuno” she gleefully said while coming closer to them.

The three boys leaned back a bit at her show of sudden excitement, suddenly feeling heat on all of their faces as they saw her delicate yet bright features up close. 

“Um yeah” the silver haired boy responded “we just came to watch the middle schoolers, it’s kind of like a scouting thing I guess you could say”

“Oh scouts” Tsukiko continued to respond with a cute face of excitement, but she backed away from them and began to think about Shoyo, ‘just imagine how excited that sucker would be to meet these guys, they’re practically his gods’ she thought and mentally patted herself on the back as if she had just unlocked a special achievement.

‘What’s that look for’ the three thought as they saw Tsukiko’s proud smile.

“I’m Tanaka” the guy with buzzed hair introduced with what seemed to be an attempt at a smooth smile.

Tsukiko’s wide orbs looked at his attempt of flirting with confusion until finally she giggled at his face “that’s cute” she responded with a seductive face of her own as she cupped her hand onto the bottom of his face. 

Tanaka looked at Tsukiko with an open mouth and blank eyes as his friends watched in utter amazement to see him so shut down from an opportunity like this.

Tsukiko then smiled as she let go of his face to walk around him and between his friends, “can’t wait to see you guys again” she said calmly as she waved at them without turning back to give them any sort of glance, her lips curled ‘Shoyo would’ve flipped.’

Tanaka stayed still in his spot not quite knowing what just happened, he simply played back the girls face and how close she was until finally his face burned bright red as his body knocked back.

“Tanaka, snap out of it,” the tallest of the three yelled at his friend while the silver haired boy tried to calm down the situation.

However the three couldn’t clear that girl from their minds, her wide pastel purple eyes that seemed to have a mix of an ocean in them, the similar looking waves of hair, and most importantly her parting words, what did she mean by ‘again’ they all thought.

Tsukiko was happily walking back to the entrance doors that led to the stands until she recalled why she was even down here in the first place “shit, Akari’s strawberry milk” she yelled while rushing back into a different hall in search of a vending machine. “Akari is gonna kill me if I don’t get that damn milk” just as Tsukiko continued to whine and peek in every hall she passed, she noticed a raven haired boy standing in one.

He stood as if he was just about to leave but stopped abruptly at the surprise of Tsukiko, he held onto a strawberry milk and the girl sighed.

That is until she noticed a set of lockers right in front of her, blocking off the end of the school. She gasped and for a moment panicked until her eyes turned sharp as she stuck her foot out and landed it hard on the metal, she then used that momentum to flip back and land shakily on her feet.

The raven haired boy had seen everything, his mouth open and his blue eyes wide as she patted herself off and fixed the black knitted sweater she wore that exposed one shoulder. ‘What the hell was that’ he continued to ponder to himself as she released a sigh and turned with a close eyed smile. 

“That was close” Tsukiko commented then opened her eyes to see the raven haired boy clearly, he was cute and he had good height, he seemed almost familiar in a way. “Hey wait where did you get that milk” she suddenly asked while rushing over to him.

“What” the boy asked with a strange expression, finally getting knocked out of his initial shock of what just happened “you did all of that for milk” he asked.

Tsukiko rubbed the back of her neck “Well it’s not exactly for me, but I still need it” she responded while thinking of Akari’s expression, feeling a shudder go down her back at the fear of backing down from an offer she made “if you could just tell me where you got it from, I’ll be out of your hair” then her eyes strayed to his jersey.

Kitagawa.

“That’s the king of the court” Tsukiko suddenly heard a boy whisper from down the hall, “that’s such a cool nickname” another boy squeaked in excitement. But the first boy simply laughed “you would think so, but just try asking him why he has that name and you won’t think it’s so cool anymore”

Tsukiko looked up at the raven haired boy and saw him with a blank look in his eyes, she could tell he was hearing their comments too and it bothered him. 

“Hey idiots” she suddenly yelled out while turning to them and standing in front of the boy “what kind of players are you to follow some stupid gossip, I suggest you wait until the actual game starts” she spoke with sharpness in her eyes.

The boys gulped down their fear and quickly made their way back to the gym.

Meanwhile the raven haired boy stood still in his spot with shaky blue eyes as the girl let out a breath ‘why did she do that?’ The questions rushed in his mind but no words could come out, the girl was turning back towards him now, he had to think fast but the only thing he could do was nudge out the milk he held in his hand.

Tsukiko saw the pink carton being held out to her and behind the nudged hand was a boy who seemed to be tall and strong, but all she could see was what his bluebell eyes spoke.

Loneliness.

Her lips curled into a smile as she reached out for the carton, but just as she grabbed it she also held onto the boy and pulled him down to her eye level “what’s your name?” She suddenly asked.

The boy was taken aback by the sudden action but he cleared his throat before answering “Tobio Kageyama” still not really making the effort to pull away for whatever reason, he just couldn’t help but look into her magical eyes that seemed to dance with color.

“Kageyama” Tsukiko repeated before raising her hands up to smack his cheeks “I’ll be in the stands watching my cousins game, but now I’ll also be watching your game so just look for me” she instructed him before taking the milk and walking away from him, this time tossing a glance and smile over her shoulder before heading to the stands.

Kageyama rubbed his cheeks that stung just the slightest and went over everything that had just occurred, it was possibly just the oddest encounter he’s ever had with someone but it was also the kindest. He then smacked his cheeks again ‘just look for me’ and with that he nodded to himself and ran back to the gym.

“Where the hell have you been all this time” Akari yelled as Tsukiko ran back to her, slightly panting but smiling brightly when she realized that the game hadn’t even started yet.

Then Tsukiko held out the pink carton “listen you better enjoy this milk like you’ve never felt happiness before in your life, because you would not believe all I went through just to get that” then her anger turned into sulk “I wasn’t even able to get myself anything”

“Hey, at least you made it back” Akari responded as she used the straw to stab through the pink cardboard “and just in time” she added while gesturing to Shoyo and his team walking onto the court, but when she turned back to her friend with an expectancy of her excitement she was shocked to instead see Tsukiko with wide eyes.

Kitagawa.

Tsukiko looked at Shoyo then at Kageyama before finally looking up at the ceiling with blank eyes “why do you hate me?” She asked which caused Akari to, for once, zip her lips and enjoy the strawberry milk.

“Thank you for the game” both teams yelled to one another just as a whistle sounded, Tsukiko shook her initial surprise away and watched the game very closely, every move or hit catching her breath in a high level of anticipation and adrenaline. Although what she really wanted to see was her cousin to get a chance to do what he did best, something that gave her absolute chills.

For Shoyo to fly.

“Shoyo” Izumi yelled before attempting to toss the ball in his friend's direction, however the aim was off and the ball was sent flying in a completely different direction.

“Come on Shoyo” Tsukiko said with starry eyes.

As if he could hear her voice urging him, Shoyo quickly ran off to follow the ball and jumped with all his effort as he hit the ball hard down to the other side.

“Woah” Akari said with a wide mouth in awe.

“Seeing him fly never gets old” Tsukiko continued as she watched Shoyo spread his wings before landing back down, smiling at the surprise of the other team even if their blocker was able to deny him the point. Until her eyes flashed to the other side of the court to see a frustrated Kageyama yelling at his teammates, but they could seem to care less about his efforts as they shrugged off his yells.

‘just try asking him why he has that name and you won’t think it’s so cool anymore’ 

Tsukiko gripped the ledge until she noticed the raven boy's head turn towards her, his eyes seeming to scan the crowd until they pinpointed her out. His breath seemed almost heavy even though it didn’t necessarily have to be, since Shoyo’s team was no real threat, but he didn’t care he was still giving this game everything he had.

His eyes and her thoughts had taken over and before she knew it, her cheeks had begun to paint themselves a sweet shade of pink.

Making Kageyama flinch a bit with a nervous line for lips, while Tsukiko tried her best to cover it with the sleeve of her sweatshirt.

“Are you okay” Akari asked as she waved a hand in front of her friend's face “don’t tell me you’re getting sick, you promised you would help with warmups tomorrow” she continued to rant on without seeing the actual situation.

Tsukiko finally had the ability to peel her eyes away and Kageyama soon did the same as he heard the whistle, “would you shut up already” she hissed while smacking the back of her friend's head.

“Ah what the hell did I do” Akari whined until she heard a male snicker behind them.

“You guys here to support your boyfriends” Tsukiko heard a very familiar voice ask, and as she turned to face the direction it came from, she quickly made eye contact with the buzzed boy she had bumped into.

Tanaka seemed to almost yelp his heart out as he felt his soul leave his body, “it’s her again” his spirit spoke as it began to follow the light.

“Would you quit it already?” Suga suggested sweetly as he aggressively grabbed his friend by the collar of his shirt, causing his soul to return, “I’m really sorry about him, well again” Suga began to apologize as the taller of the three once again began to reprimand Tanaka.

“Since when do you know these three guys?” Akari asked curiously as she turned to see the three tall highschool boys, “woah” she then added while physically looking up at them with a mouth hanging in awe at their drastic height difference.

Tsukiko though took no fear in her face, instead she approached them and smiled as she nudged them closer to the present game that was going on just beneath them “you guys came at the perfect time” she said while ignoring their confused expressions. “This game is just getting good, trust me” she said while making sure to keep their eyes on the match, just waiting for Shoyo to spread his wings again.

“That’s a team” Tanaka questioned, genuinely filled with concern as he belted out a laugh once he saw the pipsqueak forms of the green team. However when he turned to laugh with his friends he saw them slowly drop their jaws with shock, and in a moment of confusion he turned back just in time to see possibly the smallest boy of the team practically floating in midair with an extended arm that resembled an outstretched wing “what” was all he could manage to spout out.

Tsukiko smirked at the reactions of the boys and glowed in her own excitement, but it all seemed to dim down as she followed the intended path of the ball, “it’s out” she whispered just as she saw her cousin come into contact with the multicolored ball. 

Everyone in the stands seemed to have a moment of silence as the ball came into contact with the outside of the court, the air turning heavy and the silence almost unbearable until finally the sound of the whistle screamed along the walls of the gym. Followed by the cheers of Kitagawa and their enthusiastic classmates as they smacked their bottles against one another in celebration of the indisputable victory.

“Woah, that guy has some serious jump,” Tanaka said in excitement as his friends nodded.

Suga then turned to Tsukiko “I suppose you’re involved with volleyball too” he suggested as he saw her excitement and recalled her almost impossible sight of the ball's path.

Tsukiko turned to him with her wide lavender eyes “oh, no” she answered simply which in return bruised the three boys at her unbelievable honesty, “Shoyo just never shuts up about it, so I guess I picked up on a few things with his constant rambles.”

Akari laughed and swung her arm around her friends shoulder, “are you kidding, I’ve heard the most rambles from that kid than anyone else” she stated with a slight whine at the end as she rubbed her temples “but I still can’t understand any of his gibberish, Tsukiko here is what you would call a memorization freak” she explained to the boys with a slight snicker.


	2. All in the milk

Tsukiko shrugged her friend’s shoulder off, “whatever, I’m gonna go see Shoyo” she said while walking away from the group and towards the stairs.

“Memorization freak?” Daichi questioned as Tsukiko continued to walk.

Akari shrugged “Tsukiko has always had a lot expected from her so as time went on it just became a normal thing for her” she glanced at the boys and sighed at their confused faces ‘I’m guessing they don’t get out of the gym much’.

Tsukiko meanwhile had been wandering through the halls until somehow she caught sight of her cousin's bright orange locks, “Shoyo” she called out softly.

In return the friends who seemed to be consoling him turned towards the direction of her voice and became red, “Hinata since when do you know pretty girls?” Koji asked while Izumi attempted to avoid eye contact.

Hinata rubbed his sweat and turned around, suddenly gleaming as he saw his cousin approaching him with her usual warm smile. He quickly stood up and rushed over to her with his arms open wide, she wasn’t caught off guard though, instead she welcomed him with her calming aura as usual. But he continued to sulk as he gripped onto her shirt “my first game and I lost, I couldn’t stay on the court Tsukiko” he began to tear up.

Tsukiko though pulled away ever so slightly and cupped his soft tear stained cheek, “Shoyo it was your first ever game, and still you held your ground” she bit her cheek “I know you’re upset about this loss but your wings are just sprouting and now all they need is some conditioning” she said calmly while pulling him into another hug.

Hinata sniffled and took a long breath before carefully pulling away from his cousin “okay” he responded simply with a wide smile, until suddenly it dawned on him.

Tsukiko was here, in Japan.

“Wait, why are you even here?” he suddenly yelled while pointing an accusing finger, before suddenly gasping and hiding behind his friends as he cautiously scanned the hall and whispered “and where’s Masako”

Tsukiko’s lavender eyes went wide with confusion as she tilted her head ever so slightly “auntie didn’t tell you” she asked with a soft voice. Then she smiled and mentally thanked her auntie as the heavens light seemed to beam down on her “Well, I guess she wants it to be a surprise then” she answered with a mischievous curl of her lips and a playful wink that sent Shoyo’s friends into a frenzy.

Suddenly a hand smacked Tsukiko in the back of the head “how the hell could you leave me with those giants like that” she hissed as her friend groaned at the pain, “I still decide to be a nice person and spend my time watching a sport I know nothing about and you decide to ditch me, oh hey Hinata.”

Hinata nervously waved in fear at his classmate as his friends did the same “hey Akari” they all said with the same amount of nerves.

“Anyway, the guys have already left so you can come back up and at least watch the rest of the games,” she said.

“I don’t know, maybe we should just take Shoyo and his friends back home now” Tsukiko said while scratching the back of her neck until her eyes had caught sight of a familiar raven haired boy “or actually on second thought go bring them up to our seats while I go to the bathroom real quick” she quickly excused while shoving them towards the stairs.

“You’re acting weird,” Akari said with high suspicion.

“I’ll get you another milk” she responded flatly.

Akari’s smile beamed “come on children right this way” she cooed in a childish voice as she practically shoved them up the stairs despite their protests, well except for Hinata who was more than excited to watch the others and their techniques.

Tsukiko sighed as she rubbed her sleeves together and moved her violet locks from her exposed shoulder, casually heading over to the vending machine that just so happened to be right across from the boy’s bathroom. She didn’t quite know why but her smile seemed to come naturally as her cheeks painted themselves just a slight shade of pink, “oh right” she commented to herself while putting money into the vending machine twice.

Kageyama meanwhile had been preoccupied in his thoughts ‘that small boy, he had so much power in his jump’ he thought back on his quick attacks and how his setter had messed up a toss “did he really adjust himself to the setter that quickly” he muttered while leaving the washroom.

“So I guess I know why they call you the king,” Tsukiko said from her same spot by the vending machine, both of her hands tucked behind her back.

Kageyama flinched the slightest as he turned his head towards her, he had the urge to glare and yell at her or to tell her she didn’t know anything, but he didn’t. Instead he bit his cheek and glanced away from her as his fist tightly clenched a water bottle that he held.

Tsukiko then approached him with soft footsteps, pausing just before she grabbed the wrist of his free hand to lift it up. She glanced up at him and saw him flinch a bit but still his bright blue eyes were turned away from her, “a team that taunts you with a name like that is no team” she said while placing a pink carton in his hand.

Kageyama finally turned to her and looked down to see a strawberry milk sitting in his palm, he still didn’t say anything instead he just continued to study this girl's oddly familiar face, until finally a thought reached his lips “what’s your name?”

“Tsukiko” she answered with a smile “you should get back to your other games though, I’ll still be here” she assured him while backing away.

Kageyama wasn’t ready to leave though, he liked this girl, she made him feel a certain way. But time only continued to tick away and he managed to nod to Tsukiko before leaving her to head back to the gym, ‘what is wrong with you’ he mentally questioned himself while hanging his head in frustration. However as he did he noticed writing scrawled onto a clear patch of the pink carton, and in curiosity he brought it closer to his line of sight and was able to make out numbers. 

“Her phone number” he sputtered.

Tsukiko giggled at the thought of his reaction to the carton as she turned back to click the button for another carton “I wonder what’s in this stuff” she asked while looking at the ingredients suspiciously.

The day went on and as Tsukiko had previously suggested, the group stayed at the building for all of the matches. Hinata and Tsukiko didn’t mind at all, of course both had their own reasons for that, but the same couldn’t be said for their friends who practically whined just at the sound of the balls.

Everytime Kitagawa was on the court, Kageyama would find Tsukiko in the crowd and glance up at her at least twice per set. And each time it happened Tsukiko would giggle softly at the small change of demeanor in his usually strict face.

Hinata hadn’t noticed anything for the most part since Tsukiko had been nudging him to go watch other matches, until near the end when he glanced at Tsukiko and saw a slight blush on her cheeks “are you checking out the players” he asked very openly and rather loudly which caused their section of the crowd to whisper to one another and his cousin to shudder.

“Shoyo” she groaned from her spot while sighing in relief since Kageyama seemed to take no notice of her cousin's comment “say something like that again and I will beat you before you ever even step into highschool.”

Shoyo gulped while his two friends turned pale at the girl's threat, even if it wasn’t guided towards them. “I’m sorry senpai” he immediately apologized.

“Wait, your cousin’s older than us?” Kenji asked with a shaky voice.

Shoyo shook his head and whispered back “no she’s about the same age but I’ve learned that if I call her that everytime she gets mad at me” they nervously glanced at her pink face “she gets flustered and eventually calms down”

Then the whistle blew.

“Ha finally it’s over, we’re done, we can leave these awful benches” Akari said with sudden excitement as she leaped up from her napping position, until she saw Hinata rush towards the stairs with his friends following close behind, “hey where the hell do you think you’re going, my mom’s already on her way”

“We’ll meet you at the car” Hinata said as he didn’t bother with the steps, instead sliding down the railing of the stairs, ignoring his friend's many questions “I have to go see the king” he answered quickly.

“What the hell is up with your cousin?” Akari asked with venom in her voice.

Tsukiko continued to help gather their things and shrugged “many things, you shouldn’t really be surprised at this point seeing as how you’ve had him as a classmate most of your life” she answered as they both made their way out of the stands and down the stairs, taking a few minutes to try and look for the three boys but catching no sight of them.

“Well it’s your fault for leaving me and heading to America” Akari responded while sniffling a fake sob and making an emphasis of sadness “all alone for years while you enjoyed the spot light”

Tsukiko quickly smacked her palm over Akari’s mouth and held a finger to her lips “shh, someone might hear you” she pleaded while hiding her face behind her locks of lavender hair, most importantly her eyes, the same damn ones that always gave her away.

Akari quickly dropped her expression and put a comforting hand on Tsukiko’s shoulder “hey, you know I would never..” she trailed off and bit her lip, she hadn’t meant to make her friend worry, especially when she just got her back.

“I know” Tsukiko interrupted while taking a deep breath and turning to face Akari with a smile “I’m just being a little paranoid, I must be tired”

Akari’s eyes went wide at her friends smile and she began to open her mouth to say something until she felt a buzz from her phone, as she looked down at her phone she groaned, “well my mom’s already here so we should get in the car and wait for them I guess” she said while noticing her friend tense up the slightest bit, her eyes fixated on something up ahead. 

Tsukiko snapped out of her thoughts “okay, let’s go before your mom starts to worry” she said while flipping her hair away from her shoulder and walking with her friend calmly.

“Nice we made it through” Kindaichi cheered as other boys continued to celebrate while patting away at their sweat, “man that first school though, what a breeze”

Kageyama simply just rolled his eyes, too tired and annoyed at this point to reprimand them even further. But then his eyes caught glance of familiar lavender locks and her fruity smell became more vivid as she got closer.

Tsukiko however had no intention of stopping at this point, she only made a small glance at Kageyama but then kept her wide cool colored eyes forward on the path she was on. 

Most of the boys of Kitagawa had gone bright red at the sight of the girls, turning giddy at Tsukiko’s large colorful eyes which practically hypnotized them to create a clear path for her and her friend, the one with gleaming rubies for eyes. None of them had the courage to just simply approach them, instead feeling an oddly familiar cold shiver run down their spines as if someone would scold them for their thoughts at any given second.

Despite Tsukiko’s promise to herself, she did indeed stop and pointed an accusing finger at Kindaichi “easy huh” she asked him with alluring eyes that turned sharp “that small one seemed to keep you quite on your toes, so I wouldn’t get too cocky”

Kindaichi had no words, but behind him there were two boys who happened to find this exact scenario to be quite familiar. And once they met her eyes, they smirked as the past clicked into place and realization hit.

Tsukiko however took no threat to it, she instead turned her stare away from Kindaichi and left him behind. Where Akari then took her own stab at it by sticking her tongue out and dragging her eye down “cocky bastards” she taunted.

Once the pair was finally out the door one of the third years had released a whistle and turned back “you can’t ever miss eyes like those” he said, and another third year nudged him “you think he knows she’s back in town?” 

Kindaichi had exchanged glances with the rest of the team who seemed lost at the comments of the two boys, “what are you guys going on about” he asked once he finally regained his voice.

The two boys simply smirked smugly at one another “nah, don’t worry about it” one answered as they both high fived each other.

Kageyama clenched his teeth, he wanted to know just what exactly they had to say about her. But it was no use because he knew that if he expressed any interest in what they had to say, they would only suppress the information even further just to get a kick out of him. Instead he looked down at the pink carton he had in his duffle bag, her number still written down perfectly on it.

“Ugh cocky bastards” Akari groaned as they walked through the parking lot “who the hell do they think they are” she was seething with anger as she thought about the way they looked at her friend.

Until Tsukiko placed a hand on her shoulder “that was sweet, what you did” she complimented.

Akari’s eyes turned glossy and her cheeks went pink but she quickly looked away “don’t say things like that you idiot” which only caused her friend to giggle at her reaction.

“Girls, I’m over here” a woman cooed out from a car down the lane “how did it go with Shoyo’s team” she asked as they both hopped into the car “Wait, where are the boys?”

Akari sighed, “still inside, their team lost and Hinata took it pretty rough so he probably just wanted to blow off some steam before heading home” she paused and bit the inside of her cheek “so is it okay if we pass by the entrance so we can pick them up”

Tsukiko gushed at her friend’s suggestion and her mother immediately awed at the face her daughter made “of course we can go get your friends” she cooed sweetly which caused Akari to groan and only sulk further in her seat.

Suddenly Tsukiko felt her phone buzz and she looked down to see a text from an unknown number ‘I’m sorry about my teammates’ she read to herself and caused her cheeks to flush pink when she felt her heart do a slight jump.

‘It’s okay, I’m sorry you have to put up with them’ she typed back while releasing a slight snicker.

“What are you laughing about?” Akari asked which made Tsukiko jump and quickly shove her phone underneath her thigh, “why the hell are you so damn jumpy?” Akari continued to yell.

“Akari” her mom hummed in a sweet yet sickly tune which caused her daughter to quickly zip her mouth shut. The woman then turned to Tsukiko and scanned the girl's nervous lopsided smile, she simply winked back at the girl in reassurance and giggled as she saw the girl brighten back up, “Ah there they are” the woman hummed while driving up to the entrance of the school.

Hinata stood on the sidewalk with tears in his eyes and a serious face, his friends close behind as they nervously approached him. “You okay Shoyo,” Tsukiko asked with a voice of concern until she examined her cousin's face even further as he nodded back at her “come on let’s get you home.”

The boys had crawled into the car and each were dropped off at their own homes, “tell auntie I said hi” Tsukiko told Hinata as they pulled away from his house.

“Alright Tsukiko, I’m guessing the same place” Akari’s mom suggested.

Tsukiko turned to the woman with a smile and nodded before resting her head back in the window, continuing to exchange texts with Kageyama even when she entered her house and eventually flopped onto her bed. 

‘So let me see if I’m getting this, you always go to volleyball games but have never gotten into the sport itself?’

‘Yeah, you get it’ Tsukiko texted back then tossed her phone to the side so she could change her clothes, until she heard a ping which caused a slight curl of her lips as she already knew the answer he would give her.

‘Not really’

“Of course” she said with a laugh before sliding into a gray hoodie, glancing into her messy closet and managing to land her eyes on a white sweatshirt with mint accents, she sighed then her fingers went to work again at a rapid speed on the keyboard of her phone.

‘You’ve been playing for how long again?’

‘I don’t really know how to answer that, my mom says I was born with a volleyball in my hands though’

Tsukiko rolled her eyes until finally a thought dawned on her ‘wait.. you’re not kidding are you?’ She bit her lip and continued to smile at their constant messaging back and forth.

‘Why would I?’ Kageyama answered matter of factly as he continued to toss a ball into the air repeatedly with one hand only to catch it in the same palm with ease, he saw the little dots that meant she was typing but didn’t think much of it as he looked away and yawned only to hear a ping.

‘I guess you’re right, but anyway how about teaching me a few tricks sometime’ 

Her suggestion caused his heart to flutter lightly and his cheeks turned red “she wants me to teach her tricks” he said aloud but grumbled in shock when he fumbled the ball in his hand, he shook his head to clear the many responses he could give before finally settling on one and beginning to type.

Tsukiko chewed her lip nervously, “was that too suggestive” she began to mentally panic as she watched the little dots dance tauntingly in the corner of their messages.

‘For the price of milk’ Kageyama finally managed to type, he sighed thinking the response was funny until he had sent it, finding it to be more and more lame with each time he re-read it ‘seriously, milk? She’s going to think you’re a cow at this point’ 

Tsukiko though giggled at the response ‘it’s so odd hearing a joke from him’ she thought to herself while typing a response.

‘Sounds like a fair deal, good night Kageyama’ 

At this point Kageyama had turned into a blushing mess and quickly typed back the same message with a small star before tossing his phone to the side, “how is this happening” he asked himself repeatedly as he nuzzled his face deeper into his fluffy pillow.

Tsukiko sighed sweetly at his reply and smiled at the star before placing her phone on the desk, she then went through her nightly regimen and brushed her hair out just before gliding into bed and smiling shyly as she drifted off to sleep.


	3. He's kind of strange

“I’ll be out with a friend” Tsukiko called to her house and waited for the echo of replies.

“Okay” all her siblings responded, giving her comfort as she smiled and shut the front door of her house. 

The sun was shining down ever so brightly but the wind balanced out the warmth to feel more refreshing, the bright blue sky setting a tone of hope to everyone it smiled down on. The reason for its pleasant mood may have been due to cherry blossoms that danced along its surface, or perhaps the pleasant whistles the weeping willows created.

Either way Tsukiko could feel the joy in the atmosphere, her whimsical eyes only having the ability to shine with excitement, well it was almost impossible not to when she thought about where she was headed off to.

“Tsukiko” she heard Kageyama’s voice call out warmly from down the street “we can walk together”

Well, maybe it was more of who she was headed off to see.

The mischievous wind took this opportunity to pass by the boy and lift the random strands of raven hair, revealing even more a pair of shining blue bell eyes that made a slight heat pat onto Tsukiko’s cheeks, worsening as the wind caught onto her vulnerability and raked through her hair as it giggled.

Her smile though never faltered, “okay”.

It had now been weeks of the two meeting in the courtyard, slowly getting to know each other as they used their excuses of volleyball and dance to see one another. And surprisingly they seemed to get along rather well, it seemed almost unnatural how close they had become in such a short amount of time, but their comfort was proof enough.

“Hmm, your serves seem to be off today” Tsukiko said while looking at the place the ball had come into contact with the net before suddenly smirking “could it be that your skills have already rusted” she mocked.

Kageyama felt his face fume with anger and embarrassment as he suddenly shouted “what did you just say”?

Tsukiko only came closer to the net and continued to taunt from across “all you have to do is ask for my help, seeing as how I am superior now” she added while tossing the ball back and forth from palm to palm.

‘The audacity’ Kageyama thought to himself as he looked at the smug look plastered on the Tsukiko’s face, until finally the gears in his mind adjusted to the situation “hm, I wouldn’t really say superior” he began while holding his chin and looking up with innocent eyes “I mean who do you think you learned all those tricks from”

Tsukiko felt an irk “don’t give yourself more credit than you deserve, it definitely wasn't you” 

“Hm that’s odd” he said while his mind cheered at the success of the hidden meaning behind his question since boasting, for once, wasn’t his goal here. So he gave his chin a final scratch before letting go of it and forcing a face of curiosity to appear on his features “who did you learn all this from then”?

Tsukiko snickered to herself as she opened her mouth to respond, until finally the atmosphere of everything caught up to her and caused her smug look to crack ‘he’s interrogating me right now’ she asked herself while scanning his eyes and trying to look for a way out. ‘Come on think of a way out, he’s not going to let you off that easily’ her mind was jogging a mile per second until finally landing on a comeback, so Tsukiko smiled and placed one hand on her hip before responding with “wouldn’t you like to know, you’re highness”.

‘She would stoop that low’! Kageyama felt his collected exterior crumble at the nickname, “don’t call me that” he suddenly yelled while fuming and chasing the girl around the court.

“Ka-Kageyama I was just kidding, please show mercy” she pleaded with tears as she ran away from the madman. 

This was usually how their ‘practices’ went, always promising that they would focus on the actual game and not on eachother. It never worked out that way though, especially considering that Kageyama learned from very early on that there wasn’t really anything he could teach Tsukiko, she seemed to know it all. The tricks behind a solid serve, the amount of focus that had to go into setting, it was as if everything about volleyball was just stored in her mind. However she always insisted that volleyball wasn’t for her, and that ate away at Kageyama as he saw the way she gleamed whenever they were anywhere near the court or how her lips could go on forever about techniques.

It didn’t sit well.

“Tsukiko” Kageyama began as he sat up from the grass they now laid on, leaning on his right elbow so he could face her directly.

Tsukiko controlled her laughter and wiped the tear of joy from her eye as she looked at the boy, still wearing a smile that seemed to shine brightly under the rays of the sun “volleyball just isn’t my thing” she said before letting the boy finish his thoughts.

She always said that.

Yet they still could never deny that they enjoyed each other's company and always tried to make time for each other, but of course Kageyama had many things to juggle since he was still in school and training harder with each passing day as his team continued to advance further in their tournament. After what had gone down with Tsukiko and his teammates, he had assumed that she wouldn’t feel comfortable coming to many of his games.

But of course, it was the exact opposite.

Tsukiko would instead try to attend just about every game she possibly could, the only catch was that she had to bring someone, and that someone was usually Akari.

“I never thought I’d be dragged out to support this team, you’ve really lost it haven’t you” Akari commented while looking down at Kitagawa from the stands, feeling her blood boil just at the sight of the boys and their cocky smiles.

Hearing their classmates cheer for them didn’t exactly help.

“Yeah I get it, trust me I’m not exactly the biggest fan either” Tsukiko said while leaning on the railing and watching the boys do their warmups ‘well no wonder most of these guys lose their stamina so early on, those aren’t even warmups’ she thought while feeling a tick mark grow on her forehead ‘and they still hack on Kageyama for his kingly attitude, at least he has enough sense to stretch a bit’

Akari could feel the heat of her friends flames “there there, at least he learned something from you” she encouraged while seeing Kageyama go through a few familiar stretches, ones that Tsukiko had urged the soccer team to also try out “by the way, Kageyama, he still doesn’t know right”?

Tsukiko shook her head “I mean every time I want to tell him about Hinata I just get so caught up on thinking about how they’ll get along, ugh and don’t even get me started on how Hinata is going to take the news about him”.

“Well, that’s definitely a mess you’re going to have to sort out” Akari said while lifting her cheek from her chin and standing up straight “but that’s not what I was talking about”.

“Oh”.

Other days when Akari wasn’t available or quite frankly just not in the mood to see ‘those idiots’ Tsukiko would have to bring her siblings, mostly her brother Masako. 

“Hoshi please don’t stand too close to the railing” Tsukiko pleaded with her youngest sister as she sat her back down onto the bench and raked her fingers through her peachy colored curls.

This day though happened to be when Kageyama actually first met the infamous sisters.

“But I can't see all of them” Hoshi whined while tears accumulated in her eyes “Tsuki, I wanna see the game” she continued to plead until she felt herself being raised from the bench and onto someone shoulders, she looked down at locks of hair that resembled hers with a tone that was slightly darker “Mitsuko to the rescue” she giggled.

“Just don’t move too much” the thirteen year old pouted while holding on tight to the small ankles that dangled on either shoulder, “if you’re nice enough, maybe Tsukiko’s boyfriend will treat us to ice cream later” she smirked while searching for Kageyama.

Tsukiko only flushed at the comment “don’t stay stuff like that around Hoshi” she hissed at the girl while praying that Hoshi hadn’t heard their sister.

“I’m always nice to Tsuki's friends,” Hoshi said innocently with a bright expression as she already began to dream of her ice cream. “I want strawberry” she continued to cheer while clapping her hands in a cute manner, her eyes being caught by Kageyama’s as he looked up to search for Tsukiko.

It was something he did more often than he’d like to admit, but no matter what kind of situation he was in on the court, just seeing her kept him grounded. However this time he was instead met with wide hazel eyes, he even tilted his head in slight confusion.

Hoshi though took it as a game and mimicked the boys movement, giggling as she played the role of his mirror "i think im winning" Hoshi cheered as she saw Kageyama scratch his head in confusion, still copying the humorous move.

Tsukiko glanced at Hoshi in confusion then followed her gaze down to see Kageyama staring right back at her sister, "Hoshi don't do that" she began to warn with a slight laugh as she scooped her off of Mitsuko's shoulders and into her arms, giving Kageyama an apologetic look from her spot in the stands.

Kageyama chuckled a bit to himself but began to panic when he saw the small girl tear up as Tsukiko spoke to her, wiping her sister's pink cheeks with her sleeve, he felt a tinge of guilt and did the only thing that came to mind.

Mitsuko caught it and stifled a laugh "look Hoshi" she said to her sister while pointing down at the boy.

"Mitsuko seriously" Tsukiko sighed as she looked down and had her eyes turn wide as she saw Kageyama standing on the court with puffed out cheeks, she could hear Hoshi laugh and suck in a breath to make the same silly face. 'did he really do that just for Hoshi' she thought while glancing back down at him, his teammates already questioning if he was okay.

"He's kind of strange" Mitsuko commented while using her silver hazel eyes to examine the boy "but he's alright" she said with a slight curl of her lips.

Tsukiko held Hoshi close and turned back to the game with a slight blush "Yeah I guess he is".

Ever since that day, the two girls had taken a liking to Kageyama and grew more fond of him each time they tagged along. And Tsukiko could tell too that Kageyama cared for them just as much, tending to bring a snack for them even if he didn't know whether they'd come or holding Hoshi on his shoulders when he would walk them all back home.

And with time, as well as persistence, Kageyama even managed to create a bond with her little brother. Now that itself was already a great achievement, "oh Kageyama's here" Masako asked when he noticed the boy waiting outside of the house for Tsukiko.

"Yeah, I've been craving some Tiramisu and Kageyama said he would go with me to pick some up" Tsukiko said while slipping on her shoes "do you want anything while I'm out"?

"No I'm good" Masako said while placing his hands in his pockets "why don't you invite him inside, I just made a pot of milk tea" he said casually.

"Oh" Tsukiko could practically feel the tears well up in her eyes 'Kageyama did you really manage to get through Masako' she thought to herself while thinking back on his constant over protectiveness ever since they were children, always despising boys. It was a complete opposite to what she was seeing now, his posture relaxed and his face not giving a moment's hesitation "alright, I'll just call him inside" she said while opening the door.

"Cool" Masako said with a nod as he went to the kitchen to get everything ready.

Tsukiko nodded, still in shock, as she opened the door and quickly gestured for Kageyama to come over.

"Hey, is something wrong, don't tell me you're catching a cold" he said while noticing the slightly red tint on Tsukiko's cheeks.

Suddenly Tsukiko looked up at the boy "did you drug Masako" she asked with a face of serious concern.

Kageyama tried to look for the joke but saw no hint of one, and he suddenly froze "What are you going on about now woman" he yelled with bright red cheeks and large flames as he saw Tsukiko not backing down from the accusation.

Things ran so smoothly and time seemed to pass quickly as the two spent more and more time with one another, finally ditching the lame excuses and actually doing normal things together. Like going to fairs and hanging around at parks, or even stuffing their faces with dumplings each time the other had a craving for them. 

It was nice.

Until one game, just one stupid game caused Kageyama to crumble, feeling powerless as his path to sure success came to a sudden stop, 

“Kageyama you did everything you could” Tsukiko tried to assure him as he walked her home, she had insisted that Akari go with her mom because she didn’t know how Kageyama would act. But her stomach twisted into a nauseous pit as she saw Kageyama hanging his head in shame while his eyes were dark, his lips pressed tightly together.

“They did it on purpose Tsukiko” he finally said “you saw the looks on their faces, they just shut me out” he yelled in pain with a strained jaw as he tried to hold back his emotions, but his eyes started to unknowingly well up with tears “they were fed up with the king, with me".

Tsukiko felt her heart ache at seeing her friend break down like this, she stopped him from walking any further and quickly threw her arms around his torso while resting her head on his heart, not caring if she felt his tears rain down onto the top of her head “Kageyama” was all she could manage to say. She couldn't stand to see him in this much pain, his body shaking with every sob he released.

'you remember now don't you' a voice lured in her mind with a sickly tone 'admit it, you were just starting to like the sport again, but you remember'

She understood where his team was coming from, hell even Kageyama could, but to just deny a teammate like that in the middle of a game was just wrong.

'you had your fun'

Kageyama looped his arms around Tsukiko’s back and tried to calm his breathing but all he could continue to see was the moment no one even bothered to approach his toss, it just replayed in his mind over and over again.

“Tobio” Tsukiko suddenly said as she looked up and lifted both arms to wipe his tear stained cheeks, it really was just awful to see him like this and it took everything in her to not rush back to the school and beat every single supposed teammate of his that turned their backs on him, “Kitagawa is no team” she said simply.

'but you'll never forget'

Kageyama opened his eyes and met them with her colorful orbs that seemed to have stars dance in them.

“You understand your faults and I’ve seen you try to overcome them, but it’s impossible to follow through with them when you have a team that shows no support in your growth” she explained to him while cupping his face in her warm palms “but I will”

And with those words he was able to take a shaky breath and lean down to simply lay his forehead against hers, her breath tickling his neck due to how close they were.

“Thank you" he whispered.

'just how much you hate volleyball'.


	4. Bickering as a team

The rest of summer seemed to pass in a blur and before they knew it they were both stepping into the same school, Tsukiko gleaming as she took in her surroundings while Kageyama and another tall boy with navy hair kept close to her.

“Remember what we talked about Masako,” Kageyama said as the boy nodded in response before they both simultaneously declared “protect Tsukiko.”

Tsukiko jumped at their statement before punching both of their arms “would both of you quit it, you’re going to scare away any potential friends” she said while flipping her hair and looking down at her schedule before walking off in excitement, “you better hurry up before I leave you Tobio.”

Kageyama looked back at Masako and the two nodded curtly again before he ran off to follow the girl who was already receiving attention from many eyes, she however kept her eyes forward and would smile cutely at some, which in turn only caused more of a ruckus.

Whereas somewhere on the other side of the same school a teacher took attendance and soon reached “Hinata Shoyo” the boy snapped up at the sound of the teacher calling his name.

“Present” he responded with such formality that caused his classmates and even his teacher to look at him rather oddly, but he continued to smile and radiate as he practically shook with excitement ‘today is the day’ he thought to himself as he continued his day in what felt to him an agonizingly slow pace, ‘I get to play on a real team’ his excitement only bubbled even more when the bell rang and he quickly ran to the gyms as he clutched onto his duffle bag “I will get strong and one day defeat the king” he proudly recited to himself.

That was until he opened his eyes to see the infamous king already standing in the very gym he was just entering, already taking a swing at a serve but missing as he turned to the sound of Hinata’s voice.

Meanwhile the two boys bickered to one another, there happened to be three rather tall guys already on their way to the gym with plans to greet the newest additions to Karasuno “I’m gonna put them in their place” Tanaka practically growled while making a strange face.

“Quit doing that,” Daichi reprimanded “these are new teammates we’re talking about, we need to set an example and show them what a team is all about.”

Suga nodded at Daichi’s words while Tanaka simply clicked his tongue, “fresh power” Daichi said in glee as he opened the doors only to find two boys bickering to one another.

At the sound of steps the two boys quickly zipped their lips and turned to the tall Karasuno players, bowing down at their upperclassmen out of respect, even if they did have more words to exchange.

“Woah your Kageyama” Daichi immediately recognized “good height, and your strength as a setter is very impressive”

“I’m Hinata” the small boy repeated in jealousy as he hopped around to try and catch their attention.

The three however couldn’t take their focus off of this amazing player and how they were able to score him on Karasuno, they continued to fly questions off of him which he of course answered quite calmly but at the same time couldn’t deny that he felt special.

Until finally someone took notice to small Hinata “Hey, it’s you” Tanaka shouted abruptly while pointing a finger “the shorty who wore number one” he continued to shout while recalling the match he saw him in, even remembering the girl who had budged the three of them to watch the game in the first place.

Daichi rubbed his chin and looked at each boy carefully, recalling their match from last year when they were still middle schoolers “I have to say, it’s quite surprising that you’re both here considering what happened last year”

Tanaka though took no interest to that and instead put his focus onto Hinata “you’ve got guts kid, you know, with your height and all” he said in excitement as he pet Hinata’s head.

Hinata gleamed “well even if I am short I can still jump” he quickly explained “and with that I will become Karasuno’s ace” his face spoke absolute sincerity and anyone could see in his eyes that he meant what he said.

And as the boys continued in their conversations, Tsukiko was stretching and humming as she made her way over to the gym where Karasuno practices, she was finally alone since Kageyama had been too excited to wait for her and Masako was busy with practices of his own for basketball.

She didn’t mind it though, if anything she felt relieved to finally have a moment to herself to just simply breathe.

“Why are you still in the halls” a curt male voice asked from up ahead as he too made his way to the gym.

“Sorry sir” Tsukiko said with a bow, “I was trying to find the gym where Karasuno practices but became a bit lost in the halls of such a large and prestigious school” she quickly complimented the principal to throw him for a loop.

Which seemed to work perfectly as the man blushed and chuckled to himself, he slicked back what seemed to look an awful lot like a toupee “it’s quite alright, I know these halls can become a bit confusing but I’m sure you’ll adapt just fine” he said with a much sweeter tone as he waltzed into the gym first.

Tsukiko hung back a bit and snickered to herself at how easy that was “simple minded” she cooed to herself until she heard his previous strict tone come back to life from inside the gym, along with yells from both Kageyama and Hinata. “This should be interesting” she told herself as she peeked her head in just in time to see Kageyama serve powerfully to Hinata who dodged it out of shock.

“How is that response any different from last year?” Kageyama asked, which seemed to rile up Hinata even more.

Hinata positioned himself once again but his face seemed even more daring, Kageyama nodded at his change in demeanor and held nothing back as he went in for another killer serve.

Tsukiko examined the two boys and put all her focus into the serve, scanning Hinata and his position then looking at the principal who continued to yell at Daichi, “fuck” she said to herself while feeling her feet move all on their own.

Just as she predicted Hinata had been able to hit the ball but it began to bounce off and head towards the principal, Tsukiko finally closed in on the gap and put all of her strength into her right leg as she jumped up high and blocked the ball before landing back onto her feet with a crouch and sliding just a bit on the gym floor.

All of the boys had wide eyes present on their faces and no one dared to say anything, until the principal touched the top of his head to make sure everything was still intact “Daichi outside now” he ordered while heading out.

When the two finally made it out Tsukiko lifted herself back up and patted her hands together calmly before flipping her lavender locks back.

“Tsukiko” Hinata asked in utter confusion at the sight of his cousin coming out of nowhere.

Tsukiko simply approached the boy with a smile before chopping the top of his head hard “you idiot, really making trouble for Karasuno on your first day, who the hell do you think you are” she reprimanded with a threatening aura before turning her head away from him and towards Kageyama.

The raven haired boy was shocked that the two even knew each other, but he had no time to question that as he was too busy gulping down the fear from the sight of her sickly sweet smile.

“Kageyama you too” she cooed almost tauntingly, not even making a point to move since she knew he would come to her.

And as he did Tanaka finally clamped himself onto Suga and pointed out shakily “it’s her” both of them having sparkles of awe in their eyes.

Once Kageyama was close to Tsukiko she finally chopped his stomach and reprimanded him just as she did with her cousin “don’t you even start taking steps back Tobio” she threatened while using his first name.

Both boys who had been struck bowed to Tsukiko and she huffed before finally turning to the two older players with a confidence in her turn “I’m really sorry about the behavior of both of them” she apologized with a sigh.

Tanaka immediately looked down at the two boys amd stared curiously at their bowing poses, neither of them daring to make a single remark towards the other.

“That was an amazing block..” Suga complimented but trailed off since he couldn’t recall her name.

“Ah, Tsukiko” she said “just call me Tsukiko”

“woah, Tsuki-Chan is amazing” Tanaka said while recalling looking at the boys and bowing, which only caused Tsukiko to flinch back in surprise.

“Don’t Chan her” both Hinata and Kageyama yelled in unison, only causing them to growl at one another “why are you defending her!”

Before Tsukiko could answer anyone, the doors slammed back open and revealed a beyond angry Daichi who now wore a dark aura in his face. No one said anything as he walked into the gym, “first years line up now” he ordered.

Tanaka and Suga both pulled Tsukiko away from Daichi and the first year boys, hiding her smaller frame behind them as if they were her brand new shield and sword to be used against Daichi the dragon.

Kageyama and Hinata did as they were told, still bickering with one another on who’s fault it was.

“You both are lucky that the vice principal has decided not to take any actions against us, especially since he’s not that fond of us to begin with” Daichi released a sigh once he heard the boys continue to argue “enough the two of you, Karasuno was one of the top teams in the prefecture and had even gone to nationals once. And now, we’re at best eighth in the prefecture and carrying the name of ‘clipped crows’”

“When I was younger I saw them on t.v competing at nationals, it gave me goosebumps to see them on that screen giving it all they could, I want to take us back to that gym” Daichi announced proudly.

Tsukiko felt her breath hitch in her throat as she saw her memory of the same game he now spoke of, the way it made her usual silent child self scream and holler in pure excitement, the way it made her heart leap into her throat as if she was the one calling the shots and making the hits. 

‘They’re flying mom’

“But for that to happen we need a unified team that is ready to trust one another” Daichi stepped up to the two boys “I don’t need you to be friends but now that you play on the same side you need to learn to be allies, it doesn’t matter how strong either of you are, because if neither of you can get along then you’re not wanted in this gym” he reprimanded while pushing them both out of the gym along with their applications.

“Until you can be teammates you won’t be participating in this club” he repeated while swinging the doors shut.

Tsukiko stared at the closed doors in fear, especially when the tall male had turned back around with darkness in his eyes. It sent a shiver down her spine as she thought about what he was going to tell her, all she could manage to do was cling to Suga and Tanaka with a grip of worry.

So when Daichi practically threw his upper half down in a bowing position everyone was very much confused.

“Ah, so you’re not going to kill me” Tsukiko finally chirped with a sigh of relief ‘I wasn’t ready to die’.

“Why would I do that?” Daichi asked while lifting himself back up.

Tsukiko flinched as she heard the boys pleas while they continuously banged on the doors with no mercy, “well, because I know those two idiots” she answered while pointing to the doors “you know, the ones that almost knocked the vice principals toupee right off” she said while gesturing to her head as if she were him.

“Ah, as long as you don’t mention that part to anyone we’re fine” Daichi said with a fearful smile, “if it wasn’t for you things would have gone much worse” he commented while shuddering at the visions that went through his mind.

“My cousin” Hinata called out frantically “at least give me my cousin back.”


	5. Well that sucks

“Cousin” Tsukiko flinched as she heard the boys and Kageyama shout this in complete shock, her face was clearly painted with an embarrassed expression.

Daichi quickly opened the doors and everyone looked back and forth from the two relatives, scanning Hinata’s dark brown eyes and Tsukiko’s purple ocean like eyes, ‘I’ve gotta be honest though, they don’t really look related.’

“Cousins” Kageyama asked again but this time looking at Tsukiko for answers, “you never mentioned that to me” he said with a slight pout in his voice as he looked away from Tsukiko.

“Why would she need to explain anything to you” Hinata growled at the tall boy.

Tsukiko then suddenly groaned rather loudly as flames appeared from behind her “this is exactly why I never mentioned anything to either of you” she yelled at both of them with a voice that dripped in annoyance “I was hoping that when you both stepped into the gym and saw each other, you would act more mature about the situation and not just grip at each other's throats like children”

Hinata gulped, “Tsukiko” he said quietly while the shade of his skin turned into a ghost like tint.

“I can get along with him” Kageyama suddenly blurted “I’ll do it”

Daichi however didn’t buy it, “are you sure?” he asked with a sickly tone and dark eyes that made Kageyama shiver and breakdown right before everyone’s eyes.

“If I had to cooperate with him in a match” he paused and squeezed his fist tightly “I would rather receive, spike, and toss all by myself” he finally said in a tone that spoke both intimidation but confidence.

Daichi simply laughed “one player can’t touch the ball twice.”

Tsukiko sighed “I really want to see both of you in this gym playing volleyball, but if you’re not going to put aside your pride and help the team fly again” she paused and held onto the doors “there’s nothing I can do for either of you” and with that she slammed the doors shut on both of the boys, she bit her lip and walked away from the doors “listen, they’re both good players”

“I have no doubt about that,” Daichi said with a warm smile.

“Then why are you being so harsh on them?” Tanaka asked.

“Yeah” Suga continued “this is a little extreme for you Daichi, they’re both just first years”

“Well, isn’t that more of a reason to be harsh on them” Tsukiko suddenly defended as she turned to them “I know better than anyone that they’re both amazing players, but they can also get wrapped up in their own goals and turn blind at the required steps. Hinata has only ever once been on a team and it wasn’t even all volleyball players while Kageyama..” she trailed off “he’s had his own team struggles. They’re never going to learn unless you guys make them”

Suga and Daichi both smiled at Tsukiko’s wise words “she gives you more credit than you deserve” Suga commented while elbowing Daichi’s side.

While Tanaka simply bowed down with tears in his eyes “Ah Tsuki-Chan is so wise”

Suddenly footsteps and new voices began to fill into the gym and when Tsukiko looked she saw three new boys walking in for practice, they seemed confused at the scene in front of them so Tsukiko simply waved nervously at them to which they waved back.

“Ah, start some stretches right now guys” Daichi instructed the boys.

Tsukiko continued to scan the room, she couldn’t help but let her curiosity get the better of her senses, even if her more negative thoughts continued to nip at her “Do you mind, if I stay” She suddenly asked while finally releasing the lip she nervously nibbled on. She still had her back turned to Daichi “Can I please stay and watch” she asked again, but this time turning to face the three boys with her periwinkle orbs.

Daichi looked into her eyes, his mouth formed into a thin nervous line as he saw the stars of hope swimming in the cool colors that coated her eyes. She seemed warm and in a way almost familiar “of course” he nodded while running off to the rest of his team with Suga and Tanaka following close behind “alright guys, this is Tsukiko and she will be joining us for today’s practice”

“Hi thank you for allowing me to stay, I’ll make sure not to disturb” Tsukiko said with a bow before raising herself back up and hiding a flustered face behind her hand.

The boys were frozen, well at least until Daichi brought them all back to reality “ten laps around the gym then we practice serves” he ordered while clapping sounds of thunder.

Tsukiko walked over to the stage and hopped up onto it so she wouldn’t be in the way, but her eyes were all over the place as they scanned every crevice of the Karasuno gym as well as their players. “Potential” was all she said to herself as she slid her bag off her shoulder and rubbed her arm while taking in a deep breath, there was a definite twinkle of excitement in her eyes as she watched the boys and their movements, not necessarily because they were all star players but because they seemed to know they weren’t and nonetheless pushed through with full effort.

‘I really shouldn’t be here’ she continued to yell at herself while gnawing at the inside of her cheek, ‘there’s no reason for me to be here, not if those two idiots have been put on timeout’

“I’ve got it” Daichi hollered as he swooped in for a receive, his legs out in a wide and sturdy stance as he waited for the ball to come to his arms. It was effective and avoided touching the ground but the momentum was too strong and only made it a free ball for the opposing side, “Ah, sorry” he apologized.

Tsukiko though stood tall with her mouth agape as her eyes went to work in scanning the entire scenario of the practice game, ‘there’s no reason’ she continued to assure herself, even as her body continued to inch closer. Until finally she noticed her feet just at the edge of the stage she stood on, her toes practically wriggling under the excitement her body begged to burst with.

‘No reason’

“Daichi” she called out while jumping down from the stage and walking on towards him “your receive was too stiff” she said while approaching him and lowering herself down to his still crouched position, “you definitely have the muscle and balance to receive, but you’re waiting for the ball to come to you, a good receiver knows that you have to meet the ball halfway if you wish for it to return to the setter” she explained rather calmly, with a newfound sharpness in her eyes.

The boys all instinctively looked down at their arms and mimicked Tsukiko’s crouched position and held out their arms, Daichi however paid the most attention as he moved his body every way she did.

“Instead of just getting yourself in position, you need to crouch down just a bit lower than you’re used to” Tsukiko began to explain while gesturing that Tanaka hit one over to her “and just as the ball comes down on you…” she trailed off as her vision became preoccupied by the ball, her stance still perfect and just as the ball came into contact with her arms she used the balls of her feet and the dip of her waist to lift herself up and move with it, instantly gaining control over its momentum and sending it to Suga.

Suga was almost taken aback by how soft it seemed to feel in his palms as he set it to the spiker.

Daichi felt his mouth water as he watched the ball smack back down on the opposing side, ‘it changed everyone’s rhythm, just a simple receive can do all that?’ He asked himself while turning back to Tsukiko who smiled softly back at him as if nothing had just happened.

“It can take some getting used to, but I know you can do it Daichi-San” Tsukiko insisted as she tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear and pulled a pen from her pocket, beginning to scrawl a note on her hand as she mumbled to herself while walking back to her bag.

Tanaka had already begun running after her to interrogate her and beg to be taught something as well, but Daichi had stopped the him from scaring off the impressive girl, “back to the other side Tanaka” he growled while shoving him back to the other side before smiling and getting in position “I want to do that too.”

His teammates nodded and seemed to feel a sudden surge of excitement themselves as they got back into the groove of the game.

Some time had passed and Tsukiko, despite her efforts of self control, had continued to give further pointers to the team all while scribbling down in a notebook of her own, chewing on her pencil when she wanted one of them to tweak or try something new and immediately brightening up when it began to show any sign of working.

“Come on Tanaka you’ve got this” Tsukiko silently supported from the sidelines with a look of hope that made Tanaka determined as he thought about the strength in his palm, and when he went in for the spike he smirked and ever so delicately feinted the ball over the blockers.

“Woo” Tanaka yelled out of excitement as he landed back onto his two feet and clapped his friends hands, immediately running over to Tsukiko and held his hands out for high-fives, he noticed Tsukiko was at first taken aback for whatever reason but quickly recovered as she smiled and followed along.

“Ah Shimizu” Suga said as the doors opened and in walked a pretty navy haired girl with a slim pair of glasses, “don’t worry about them” Suga immediately excused the two banned boys while closing the door and letting the girl drop her stuff over to the side.

“Shimizu!” Tanaka quickly yelled while dragging Tsukiko by the wrist as he approached Shimizu “meet Tsukiko” he said while holding her by the shoulders and shoving them together.

“You’re very pretty,” Tsukiko said with a soft laugh and pink cheeks.

Shimizu examined the girl from bottom to top and found herself admiring the girl's unique hair, but she especially admired the magical orbs that sat in her eyes “you’re very pretty too” she complimented softly, when suddenly Tsukiko gripped her hands.

“You must be the manager of this team” Tsukiko began to say excitedly with wide eyes until Shimizu nodded carefully “well, I can tell you’ve really been putting in all of your effort not only with these guys but just the small things, you truly are a great manager” she said while closing her eyes and forming a smile.

Shimizu looked at the girl and continued to examine her, she could have sworn that her face seemed so familiar but the question was where had she seen it. She couldn’t put it together just yet, but she could feel for whatever reason that these compliments weighed much more than your average person, so Shimizu smiled with pink cheeks and bowed “thank you”

“Ah, they’re getting along” Tanaka cooed in a dreamlike haze.

“Alright, back to practice you” Suga said while grabbing his friends collar and dragging him back to the court, all while watching Tsukiko continue to talk to Shimizu with excitement as she gladly shared her notes with the manager that littered her notebook, he sighed with a smile as he saw all of the ink splotches on her hands from the pen she wrote with. Then he saw Daichi continue to also watch the two girls as gears seemed to spin in his mind “are you looking at a second manager” the silver haired boy asked the captain.

Daichi simply rubbed his chin “do you think it would be a bad idea?”

“No” Suga responded while leaning his head to the side “but, you feel it too right?”

“What do you mean” Daichi asked while attempting to spin a volleyball on his finger like he had seen some of the basketball players do, although it wasn’t exactly going as smoothly as he had planned, he couldn’t quite balance such a heavy object on a single finger.

“You’re doing it wrong” a male voice spoke behind Daichi and Suga “you’re putting all the focus into the balance and not getting a good spin”

Both boys turned around and were immediately met with broad shoulders, so slowly they looked up and met with a pair of serious eyes that resembled an ocean but with a silver undertone, the orbs contrasted nicely against his head of navy hair which was trimmed nicely at the sides as the top came into a neat yet spiked style. 

However the most important trait of this mysterious guy happened to be his height, and the team realized this as they saw the boy loom over their two seniors.

“He’s so tall,” Suga said with a ghost-like expression.

“Masako” Tsukiko cooed as she rushed over and wrapped her arms around his torso “how was basketball tryouts, did you make the cut?” She interrogated with sparkles in her eyes.

The boy chuckled and quickly turned to reveal his back which did indeed mark him as a part of the basketball club.

“Varsity” Tsukiko gasped while kicking the boys cave and jumping up high to latch herself onto the boys back, which he didn’t seem all too bothered by “You really took a varsity spot, that’s my cocky little brother” she added while nudging his head and ruffling the spikey navy hair.

“Little brother” the volleyball boys practically screeched.

Masako of course took it in the wrong manner and began to scowl when he found no trace of Kageyama or even Hinata “you got a problem with that” he basically threatened while using his height as even more of an advantage of fear.

“Huh” Tanaka challenged back with a dark look that was meant to intimidate the boy, but Masako wasn’t backing down by an odd look that resembled someone being constipated. 

“Tanaka” the boys reprimanded.

“Masako” while Tsukiko did the same.

Both boys looked away from one another and clicked their tongues, “sorry, we didn’t mean any offense” Suga began to apologize to Masako “we were only so surprised by your height, it makes sense you wanted to join basketball but I mean that height in volleyball, wow” Suga’s eyes were practically dazzled as he thought of the moves he could pull off with that height.

Tsukiko giggled at the team's admiration while Masako flinched and rolled his eyes, before having them land on his sisters hands which were covered with ink. As he took the time to examine the splotches, he found himself noticing other small changes in her demeanor that surprised him, the way she smiled and loosened her posture.

She looked at peace, but most importantly, it was authentic peace.

“Alright back to practice guys” Daichi ordered while he and the other guys ran back onto the court, however he couldn’t help but glance back at the two siblings ‘now they seem really familiar’ he thought to himself as his mind continued to itch even after another practice game began.

“So where’s Kageyama” Masako asked his sister while watching the game.

“You’re not even going to ask about our cousin first” she asked even if she already knew the two didn’t get along all too well, she sighed “they both boiled at seeing one another and got kicked out of the gym until they can work together.”

“Well that sucks” he said.

“I agreed to it,” Tsukiko added casually.

“By sucks, I meant it sucks that…” Masako trailed off since he knew he couldn’t dig himself out of this one.

“Masako you didn’t see them” Tsukiko began while looking up at her brother “they were being so childish just going at each others necks without giving either one a chance, neither of them get how a team works”

“Well what good is being banned gonna do them” he suddenly asked “shouldn’t they actually you know get the chance to work together instead of probably just bickering more outside” Masako turned to look at his sister who by now had seemed to reattach her burdens as she looked down out her fidgety fingers, he sighed before scratching the back of his neck “anyway, are you sure this is just about them getting along for the teams sake?” 

Tsukiko flinched “what do you mean” she asked in a slightly threatening tone that made her brother nervously laugh and scoot back a bit.

“I just, you know you’ve always been so close with Hinata, not that I actually understand why. But now you’re also close with Kageyama and well considering they’re past problems, I can tell it’s a sticky situation” he paused when he saw his sister sulk then nudged her shoulder “hey, if anyone can make those two get along it’s you” he assured her.

Suddenly her fist nudged his chest “yeah I know” she told him with a chuckle.

Shimizu glanced at the siblings from the side of the gym and smiled to herself as she saw them get along so well, ‘intriguing’ she thought to herself while writing their names down on to the side of her paper.

Finally, night had draped itself over the sky and painted it dark while the moon shined. By now the banging on the doors had stopped and the team had assumed that they tired themselves out and had gone home, but Tsukiko knew better and swung the doors wide open, only flinching a bit when Kageyama practically pounced up and yelled.

“I want to challenge you” he yelled without realizing it was Tsukiko at the door, Masako behind her and chuckling, he began to blush at the small gap between their faces and he felt his tongue go dry when he met her soft eyes “Ah, I meant”

“A challenge” Daichi asked with a smile tugged at his lips as he pet his chin “I like it.”

Kageyama bit his cheek but stood tall once again “a 2 on 2 and if we lose, we’ll accept any punishment that you choose”

“Actually, there are two other first years joining us along with you guys so let’s change it to a 3 on 3. I’ll join the other first years and you both can have Tanaka” Daichi said while shoving his friend to the two boys.

“What” Tanaka barked back.

Suga however smiled “you’ll get to show them firsthand what a great senpai you are” he cooed which easily convinced Tanaka to shut up.

Daichi looked at the two boys and cleared his throat “if your team loses then..” he trailed off then looked clearly at Kageyama “then as long as us third years are still here, Kageyama will never play as a setter on this team, I don’t care if it’s a tournament or practice matches”

“What” Tsukiko whispered as her and Masako both looked at Kageyama.

“But I’m a setter” Kageyama practically yelled at the top of his lungs, panic beginning to set in as he looked at Daichi who clearly wasn’t joking “I don’t play other positions, I’m a setter”

“Then you better win,” Daichi said while shutting the doors once again, no further words were exchanged and Daichi calmly went back to the court as he walked past Tsukiko who still seemed to be bothered.

“He’s going to be fine” Masako tried to assure his sister while shrugging off his coat and placing it on her shoulders “we should head home though.”

Tsukiko nodded and went to grab her bag but Masako had already taken care of it and held each of their bags on either arm, she nodded and scanned the gym again with her periwinkle orbs that seemed to be a tad dimmer until she heard Tanaka yelling about what time they would all be meeting for tomorrow’s practice.

He winked from his position at the window and ran past Tsukiko, slyly placing a note in the pocket of her brother's coat before returning to the court.

“I don’t like that guy” Masako growled through gritted teeth.

“You don’t like any guys,” Tsukiko said with a smile as she swatted her brother “come on now, let’s go.”

“Tsukiko” Kageyama said as he saw the doors open to reveal the girl and her brother “and Masako”

“Not true, I can stand him” Masako said while fist bumping Kageyama “you know, when he’s not getting himself kicked out of clubs” he added with a mocking laughter that made Kageyama boil as he pointed an accusing figure to Hinata. “You just never can keep yourself out of trouble” Masako said with an accusing tone to Hinata, which began a series of bickers between the two boys.

“Tsukiko,” the raven haired boy said again with a soft look on his face as he came closer.

She wanted to be mad but “yeah, I know” she simply couldn’t and instead pushed small stray hairs away from his bluebell eyes as he placed his hands on her hips.

The two were always comfortable with each other, it was just something that came natural between the two ever since the day they met. So by now this sort of contact came as a second nature to them and they never thought twice about how close they were, because quite plainly it was just comfortable.

“Here” Tsukiko said with a sigh as she fished for the note Tanaka had given her before handing it over to Kageyama “both of you need to be here at 5 a.m tomorrow morning okay, so go home and get some rest right now” she said while nuzzling his cheek with her thumb one last time, before pulling her warm palms away from his face.

Kageyama continued to keep his eyes glued on her and shook up with Masako once more before he ran off to follow his sister.

“You always bicker with him” Tsukiko giggled while nudging her brother as she recalled the way he had bickered with Shoyo, “it’s never going to change” she said, but it comforted her in a way and soon her cheeks began to dust with a blush as she thought of Kageyama. 

“By the way, Kageyama and I won’t be walking to school with you tomorrow”


	6. Bickering as a team

“This is actually kind of nice” Tsukiko told herself as she walked with her head up high to look at how the clouds formed against the mixture of the sky, most of it was still shades of dark blue but as the sun slowly rose the colors faded into a purple tint. She found herself thinking back on yesterday, mostly about the team and how she had helped them through a few practice plays.That certain feeling of pride and excitement she was sure she had lost so long ago, it coursed through her all night and still hadn’t taken rest, and though it was nice in the moment, the negativity in the back of her mind continued to lurk as it fed off of her fears and whispered caution. The tension lingered through her body and she felt her stomach churn a bit as she stopped in her tracks, ‘why are you going back’ her mind continued to mock ‘there’s no point’.

However she began to hear the faint sound of feet tapping rapidly behind her along with yells and pants, and as she turned around her eyes grew wide at seeing Kageyama and Hinata both run in her direction with faces that made you tell they were competing. She knew that she shouldn’t be smiling because they were still working against each other, but seeing them like this side by side on their way to one goal, it made her face glow.

And just as the two were beginning to pass the girl, her feet picked up on the pace of the situation and ran in sync with the two as she laughed and hollered the entire way to the school. She could feel the wind prickle her already red cheeks and the cold morning dew nip at her nose, but her body melted into the moment and soon enough she made it to the gym first.

“Tsuki” Hinata groaned as he panted “that’s not fair, you came in later”

“You’re just upset because I won” Tsukiko pouted back while puffing out her cheeks as she pulled onto the doors, only to not feel them budge “it’s locked” she said while ignoring the boys comments on how the race ended in a tie.

“Ah not to worry” the three heard a familiar voice coo from behind them as keys jingled “your senpai is here” Tanaka smiled cockily at the two boys before noticing Tsukiko behind them.

“I didn’t expect you to be here so early,” Tsukiko said out of concern “are you sure you’re going to be okay today?”

Tanaka slightly blushed at the girl's concern ‘Tsuki-Chan is so caring’ he thought to himself before clearing his throat “don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine” he said with a wide smile and confident laugh as he picked up his posture proudly and unlocked the gym doors.

As soon as the two boys heard the click of the doors they rushed right inside and began to admire the gym, it felt like an honor to be practicing in the Karasuno gym.

“Well don’t just stand there, let’s practice,” Tanaka said gleefully as he opened the closet and began to take out equipment, everyone pitching in to set up as quickly as they could manage before finally itching to just play.

“Somebody toss to me” Hinata continuously chirped before being smacked in the back of the head by none other than Tsukiko.

“Idiot, no one is allowed to even pick up a ball until they complete their stretches and warmups” Tsukiko said with a smirk and sharp eyes as she fished through her bag.

“Do you usually do that?” Hinata asked Tanaka, who simply shook his head and shrugged.

“Not many volleyball players do, their version of warmups is usually tossing around the ball and receiving softly” Tsukiko explained while taking out her notebook and opening it up “but that doesn’t really do much to get the players body prepared for the game, however there are proper stretches that you guys can do to help your body's flexibility and stamina during games.” She then flipped around a white board she had taken out of the closet, and already written down neatly was the list she spoke of, “I did this yesterday before leaving.”

The three boys simply looked at the board and back at Tsukiko who was dead serious, “are you sure this is necessary?” Hinata asked then suddenly gulped as he saw Tsukiko’s close eyed smile become more haunting, “alright guys let’s get to it” he said while nudging the other two, only to turn and see that they had already begun their stretches.

Tsukiko nodded at the three before walking off and plugging her earbuds in, the rest of the world quickly began to shut itself out as music filled her senses and loosened up her body. She had just been walking around the gym while jotting down ideas for today’s practice and things she wanted the boys to try out, occasionally glancing at the three during their assigned stretches to make sure that they hadn’t already given up. However as Hinata strained to stretch his upper core out, he peeked through his squinted eyes and let out a small chuckle as he saw his cousin begin to fall under the impression of the music. He was almost sure she had no idea what her body was tricked into doing, especially since her hand still seemed to be so concentrated on her notebook, but it was nice to see a familiar side of her from their childhood.

Kageyama had picked up on Hinata’s small smile and was prepared to yell at the smaller boy, until he shifted his sight towards Tsukiko and saw her sway to music as she continued to write in her notebook. Her features looking calm as movement became second nature when her feet took over, he felt his annoyance melt away as he looked at her fluid movements.

“Woah Tsukiko, you dance” Tanaka suddenly blurted in awe as he noticed the girl become more in tune with the music.

At the sound of Tanaka’s voice she quickly jumped in surprise and turned back to the boys with a crimson shade painted on her face “oh no, I wasn’t” she tried to shake off as she yanked her earbuds out and rubbed the back of her neck in absolute embarrassment “I mean I used to, but not much anymore” she managed to spill.

“You used to dance” Kageyama asked with a raised brow as he recalled all of the times he’s seen Tsukiko trip on her own two feet.

“That’s your reaction” Tsukiko practically yelled at him with bright flames.

“Yeah, Tsukiko would dance all the time when we were kids” Hinata recalled with pure laughter before petting his chin in thought “now that I think about it, it was really the only thing she didn’t injure herself with”

”Hinata” Tsukiko shrieked with embarrassment as the two other boys snickered at Hinata’s innocent comment, she rubbed her temples and took a breath before finally deciding to let the boys stop their stretches early. Mostly in hopes that they would once again become way too immersed in the game to even care about the recent events, much less continue to all about it, “nice hit Tanaka” she supported from the side after peeking up from her notebook and managing to catch sight of Tanaka spike the ball.

Tanaka felt his ego grow at the girl's words of encouragement and gave Kageyama a thumbs up, ‘I feel even more pumped’ he thought to himself with a laugh while Kageyama simply shook his head and glanced at Hinata who seemed to be begging for just one set. 

“Toss the ball to me first” he told the short boy.

Hinata’s eyes sparkled as he happily complied with the tall boy's orders, tossing the ball up to his palms and preparing his run.

Tsukiko arched her brow as she peeked up from her notebook with a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips as she watched the two boys comply with one another, ‘is this it’ she asked herself as she saw her cousin launch himself into the air and focus on the ball. But as she saw the ball leave Kageyama and head towards Hinata, she flinched. Just as she had already pictured in her mind; Hinata went in for the hit, focusing all of the energy in his arm to spike the ball down. But there was a split second difference in his swing and Kageyama’s set, he never felt the ball connect and the only thing he heard was the echo of the ball hitting the floor next to him. He looked down at his hands with annoyance before looking back up at Kageyama “one more” he demanded.

To everyone’s surprise, Kageyama complied and kept giving Hinata tosses. Hinata however couldn’t manage to make contact with any of them and each time he missed his hits would become slopier due to his frustration, “one more” he would keep demanding.

Tsukiko could see the problems, not only in Hinata’s approach but also with Kageyama’s sets. However, she believed in them and knew this was something they were going to have to solve together.

Suddenly the doors to the gym slid open and everyone felt their hearts skip a beat in panic, until they revealed Suga and Masako standing in the doorway, neither of them surprised to see people in the gym. 

“Good morning everyone,” Suga said with a wave and smile as he made his way inside along with Masako who stayed quiet.

“Ah- Sugawara I can explain” Tanaka began while bowing profusely as Suga casually changed his shoes, “please don’t tell Daichi-San” he began to plead while picturing their captains face of fury.

Suga simply sighed and smiled “I’m not going to tell Daichi anything” he turned to the first years “it's only fair you guys get in some practice before the match.”

Kageyama and Hinata nodded as a show of thanks, while Tsukiko gleamed back at her mono toned brother who began to approach the spot she had settled into on the floor. “Since when are you a morning person” Masako questioned, still from above, while looking down at her intricate notes that made a memory flash in his mind from their childhood years.

Tsukiko’s smiling lips quickly began to fade into a more monotoned line as she tucked hair behind her ear “I just wanted to tag along” she said, as if excusing her actions and dismissing the glimmer of hope that managed to sparkle in Masako’s eyes.

“I see” he responded with a nod as he slung his bag in front of him and took out a gray folder “This was dropped off this morning not too long after you left, Suni said it was urgent so I figured you should look over these at school” he almost winced at his own words, especially as he saw his sister’s shoulders only droop down lower at the sight of the folder.

She however shrugged it off and put on her usual brave face “Thanks Masako” she said with a smile that seemed to paint over a stressed persona.

“Tsukiko” he managed to speak out while reaching his hand out, but being stopped rather abruptly as his sister had beat him to it and threw a soft punch to his stomach to shut him up. He could see her smile, bright as ever, but her body wasn’t seeming to cooperate as he felt her fist shake with stress against his body. This very moment felt all too familiar to both of the siblings and they seemed to have a silent communication through the faint contact, trying not to make a scene but still having a message pass through a shared memory from their childhood, one that was filled with countless times of Tsukiko always being strong for Hoshi, Mitsuko and even Masako. 

Kageyama had been watching the two from his spot at the court with sharp eyes as he too traveled his line of sight from Tsukiko’s confident smile, to her shaky fist that began to pull back as the siblings once again continued their conversation.

“Quit watching my cousin” Hinata said bluntly as he suddenly appeared next to Kageyama, making the taller boy flinch in surprise as he cleared his throat “you know, I missed them a lot, even Masako” he said while mumbling the last bit.

Kageyama raised a brow as he subtly glanced at the short ginger boy, “why did they move to America?” He asked in hopes to finally learn something about Tsukiko.

“Ah well” Hinata began to stutter as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck, knowing very well that it wasn’t his place to say anything but still felt a tinge of pity in him after seeing how close his cousin had gotten with Kageyama. Memories of the two in his childhood began to taunt at him as he also examined their interaction, and he began to nibble at hid bottom lip with a sense of uncertainty that keeping things was the best for anyone in this moment, and just as he seriously began to consider telling Kageyama anything, a familiar and soft voice called out his name from behind.

“Hinata, I can help you practice your receives if you’d like” Suga suggested while rolling up his sleeves and grabbing a ball with a mischievous glint in his eyes, “we might as well practice them while we still have time.”

Hinata’s eyes of course sparkled at the mere offer and he quickly sprinted to the silver haired third year, leaving Kageyama behind with a bitter taste in his mouth, not only from being blown off for Suga’s tosses but more importantly for not being able to get any information on Tsukiko. 

“Hey guys” Tsukiko called out as she began to pack up all of her things while Masako waited for her in the doorway of the gym “i'm going to head out right now with Masako’ she announced, but not before tossing the boys their water bottles and doing a cocky salute.

Tanaka took a large swig of water before calling out to her “practice starts at the same time today after school.”

Tsukiko seemed to slightly pause at Tanaka’s reminder, causing her brother to flinch and look back at her face, as usual though it showed nothing but a bright smile before turning back to respond with a simple “yeah.” The reminder itself was not to be considered rude or anything along those lines, however it did pluck at a tight string in Tsukiko’s core as the boys had simply assumed that she would now be spending time helping the team, or maybe what bothered her more was the feeling that she really did want to come back but knew it was best if she didn’t. So she nodded as a final understanding then straightened her posture as she walked through the doors that led to the school, going ahead of Masako who seemed to be taking in one final look at the gym before following suit.

Kageyama felt odd in his stomach, something didn't seem to settle very much with him as he saw the two siblings leave in a strange way. His odd suspicion was only solidified when he caught a glimpse of Hinata looking back at his cousins with a sad look before hanging his head and turning back to help the upperclassmen pick up before the others arrived.

‘It doesn’t feel right’


	7. Wander

Tsukiko slumped in her seat as she rested her head on the desk to take a small three-minute break before her next class, as the teachers gathered their things and began to switch out, her body slumped. She was feeling the weight of the emotions she kept tying to the volleyball team, seeing all of their smiling faces and hearing them call her name with such excitement when she gave them even the smallest pointer, it reminded her of old times.

But that was the problem.

“Who ran you over this morning” Akari questioned as she picked up her friend’s loose arm that hung off the desk only to drop it so it would slam back down, “seriously I haven't seen you this drained in a while” she added while poking her friends head repeatedly until Tsukiko finally latched her hand onto her finger.

“Those damn boys” she practically screeched with flames while her body stretched itself out harshly before she sat back up straight in her seat, ignoring the many stares she was receiving from her classmates who had also begun to whisper nonsense around her, “who do they think they are? I was there for only a day and gave them a few pointers and suddenly they expect me to just keep coming back and helping them out like I'm some kind of coach, who by the way, I haven’t seen at all which is kind of alarming..” her thoughts continued to trail out of her mind and made Akari dizzy as she tried her best to keep up with all of the words that were being spouted at her.

Until finally Tsukiko had released another groan before leaning her head on her hand and straying her vision out towards the window that sat next to her, peering at nothing particular until her eyes had settled on a boy who happened to be Kageyama aggressively tapping on two options of the vending machine. 

Slightly making Tsukiko feel better and snicker from behind the palm that covered her mouth since she recalled Kageyama doing that same exact thing every time they went to a vending machine, he never could decide between yogurt or milk.

“Listen” Akari began as she crouched down in front of Tsukiko to be at eye level with her, “I hear everything you’re telling me and I'm listening, but it still sounds to me that you’re upset because you’re ignoring a part of you.”

Tsukiko looked back at her friend and carefully examined her face, unconsciously biting down on her lip from behind her palm as her fingers scratched at the side of her face.

Akari noticed her nervous ticks and grabbed her friend’s hand “What you went through” she paused to find the right words, before admitting there were none “it’s pure shit, all of it. However this past summer,’ she sighed before smiling a bit “it’s the happiest I’ve ever seen you in a long time, spending every day with Kageyama and cheering him on at games”

She paused again, this time with more of a smile.

“But, I can tell you want more” she finally admitted “you want so much more than you’re allowing yourself to have”

Tsukiko kept herself tight-lipped before recoiling her hand back to her, trying hard to steady it back into a calm state until finally reaching it back out to softly chop down on the top of her friends head while smiling back at her “idiot” was all she could manage to say at the moment.

And that itself was enough for Akari.

The school day continued and Tsukiko seemed to be calmer through the day, as she sat correctly in her seat and focused on the lessons just as any other student was, and took her breaks to talk to others and sing her usual tune of laughter with a smile. Tsukiko wasn’t exactly the girl of the school, but she did seem to be well known and liked amongst her peers, no one had any complaints about her or the energy she put off. Instead, people tried to be in her presence because of the big smiles she gave and how she made anyone feel special with just a simple joke or compliment, there was just something about her that people seemed to like.

And Tsukiko? Well she couldn’t really complain about people liking her, it was a nice feeling after all but she did feel a bit different spending time with her classmates, something seemed to be different.

Finally, the last bell of the day rang and Tsukiko could only rake her fingers through her hair as she thought about where to next. Her feet moving slower than others in the hall due to her hesitation until she turned into a seemingly vacant hall to catch her breath, sliding down against the wall as she took slow breaths and compared the loud general hall to the quiet of the one she ran to.

Then something seemed to be familiar about it, she could recall this hall from a foggy memory and picked out a wary path as she stood to her feet and began to recall it. Taking steps with caution as she peeked into empty classrooms before her eyes caught sight of a room with a very different setup. She slid open the door and slipped in while looking to see that she wasn’t intruding on anybody, and when she was sure no one else was there she dropped her bag and stepped deeper into the dance studio, admiring the mirrors lined up on each wall and the light that seeped in through the windows. Twirling in the middle of the room perfectly with a laugh as the wind from outside seeped through open windows and seemed to blow at her face, no music played but she already seemed to have a melody sing in her mind as her body began to move softly from either side of the room, eyes closed and fully enjoying the moment she was lost in.

“Still wonder, wonder best part” The soft melody sang in her mind and in turn spilled from her lips with an actual soft voice, time seemed to be vacant and all that mattered was this very moment she was in right now, nothing else, “I still wander, wander next story”

“I want to make you mine” another voice sang along with her on the last line, and time came back all at once as she stopped at her twirl and opened her eyes to see a tall blonde mall standing in front of her, the wind passing between them in a soft hum as he looked at her with curiosity in his eyes that sat on a face that spoke nothing else, “I thought I heard someone in here”.

“I” Tsukiko’s mind was registering her surroundings once again and took time in thinking of what to say or do until it dawned on her “you could’ve made me twist an ankle” she yelled through her chest while throwing a pencil case that fell from her bag at him, “you don’t sneak up on people like that!”

The pencil case had indeed made contact with the blonde’s face and an irked mark appeared on his face as he yelled back “you should have heard the door open, don’t throw things at people you crazy woman just because you can’t hear!”

The two looked at each other with challenging expressions, before Tsukiko finally sighed and looked to the side with a slight embarrassment “you’re right, I shouldn’t have yelled or thrown that at you, I’ve just got a lot going on” she looked back at him with a softer look “I’m sorry”.

The blonde pouted while lifting a brow as if he didn’t believe her apology and was waiting for her to have another outburst, but then he could tell that the strange girl was actually being serious, so he, in turn, backed up and reached down to pick up the pencil case that had been thrown at him. Looking at the pastel color of it before holding it out for her to take it back, “it’s fine, you have a weak arm anyway”.

Tsukiko took the case back while looking up at his forehead, trying to stifle a laugh at the sight of a slight bruise building upon his white skin, “right, because bruises for just that easily”.

“Bruise?” He questioned while instinctively touching his forehead and wincing at the pain before looking annoyed again “great, today’s the first day of practice too” he mumbled.

“It’s okay, the bruise is still small” Tsukio noted while rummaging through her bag and taking out a small ice pack shaped like a dinosaur, “I keep this on hand for my brother usually but it’ll help it to not swell or get too much darker” she explained while attempting to go on her tippy toes to reach his forehead and place it on, slightly pouting when she realized just how tall he was.

The blonde laughed at her attempts a bit before wincing again at the pain of the bruise, “fine, fine, I’ll take it” he begrudgingly agreed while taking the ice pack from her, admiring the design for just a quick second before placing it on his forehead. 

Tsukiko smiled up at him, despite the annoyed look he kept on his face, before rushing to gather her things back up once again. “So, you said something about practice” she commented while slinging her bag back over her shoulder “what club are you a part of?”

There was a pause from him, but when he saw Tsukiko’s bright eyes he decided to answer the question “well I’m in the..”

“Tsuki” another voice from down the hall yelled as they exited out of the dance room with the blonde walking out of the room first “Tsuki, we’re going to be late for volleyball practice” the boy continued to yell as Tsukiko walked out behind him and popped her head out next to the tall male to see the boy who was yelling.

“Volleyball”? Tsukiko asked with a nauseous look before realizing something else “wait your name is Tsuki”?

“It’s Tsukishima, Tsukishima Kage” he corrected with his usual annoyed glance all while still holding onto the ice pack “and yes I’m in the volleyball club, is there a problem with that”?

“Tsuki stop yelling at her” the brunette tried to calm him down while getting closer to them, in turn noticing the ice pack and the bruise underneath it, “Tsuki what happened to your forehead”?

Tsukishima clicked his tongue while gesturing to Tsukiko who was still present and now waving nervously at the two “why don’t you ask that crazy woman”

Tsukiko continued to wave as sweat built up from her nerves and her mind spun with thoughts of these two and the volleyball club they were involved with ‘how does this keep happening to me? Am I cursed or something?’ she asked herself.

“Oh,” the brunette said while smiling nervously at the girl in front of him “I’m Yamaguchi, and whatever happened, I’m sure you were in the right. Tsuki can be a lot to handle and I sincerely apologize if he made you feel uncomfortable in any way” he apologized with a bow while Tsukishima stood behind him with a face of shock at the betrayal.

Tsukiko’s mind continued to spin, but she laughed at the sight of the two boys and how they interacted with one another “It’s nice to meet you” she suddenly said, making the two boys stop and turn to her, blushing a bit at the sight of her smile “my name is Tsukiko”.


	8. Reasoning

“Oh,” Yamaguchi made a small questioning sound while innocently tipping his head to the side before brightening up once more “hey Tsuki, she has the same first part as your name, there’s two Tsuki’s,” he said with such a bright face.

Tsukiko gushed at how sweet Yamaguchi was and Tsukishima could only look at the two mushy people standing in front of him with a slight grimace “we should get to the gym Yamaguchi” he said while nudging his friend and returning the ice pack to Tsukiko before sending a cocky smile over his shoulder at her, “we’ll see you around”.

And as the two males walked down the hall, Yamaguchi could only continue to ask Tsukishima what had happened, of course with no luck of receiving an answer-back. “Tsuki, you have to admit it does look suspicious if you won’t tell me what happened” The brunette kept begging from behind his friend as they entered the gym, hitting his face against his friend’s back as they suddenly stopped.

“Tsuki-Chan is here” Tanaka cried in tears of joy as he attempted to hug the girl as she talked with Kiyoko, before being stopped by Suga.

“Tsuki-Chan” Yamaguchi asked quietly while peeking his head from behind Tsukishima, who he then saw from looking up, also couldn’t believe the coincidence.

“That’s enough Tanaka” Daichi warns the emotional boy with a deep voice, before holding his hand out towards Tsukiko with a warm smile “it’s nice to have you here again,” he said, making sure not to tie anything to this visit, in hopes that he wouldn’t make the girl uncomfortable.

Tsukiko seemed to really appreciate this vague gesture as she instead high-fived his hand with a proud smile on her face, finally turning to the two who had just entered the gym, waving at the two aloof males “hi guys”!

Once Daichi recovered from the sudden high five he turned to the two boys as well “ah you two must be the new first years” he announced with his usual deep voice as captain, “Tsukishima and Yamaguchi”.

“Wow, he’s a tall one,” Suga said with a slight admiration over the blonde’s height, suddenly recalling Masako and his height, which he was pretty sure was still even taller than Tsukishima, “why is everyone so tall” he whined a bit with a sigh as Tsukiko comforted him with a pat to the back and a soft look of comfort. 

“It’s okay Suga” Tsukiko assured him while smiling in his direction “you’re still a great setter, you don’t need height to do what you do, tie the team together with your sets”.

“Yes, Tsukiko is right Suga” Kiyoko chirped in while leaning on Tsukiko and poking her head out from behind in a manner that was cute, but not meant to be on Kiyoko’s part “height isn’t the only thing that should decide how well a person can play, it, of course, helps but in the end only you can be the last factor”.

Suga looked at the two with teary eyes before swinging his arms around them in a big bear hug “you both are amazing” he sniffled while Tsukiko laughed and hugged back as Kiyoko simply patted his back for comfort.

“Suga that's not fair” Tanaka yelled with flames in his eyes as the other on the team nervously smiled at the situation and how the two new first years were watching it all, “please Suga, allow me to take your place” Tanaka then suddenly pleaded with dramatic tears as he dropped to his knees as a frail boy, almost melting to the ground in a puddle.

Daichi could only stand in utter embarrassment as he tried to calm himself in not making the situation worse by only yelling at everyone, “We’re glad to have you in the club guys, I’m sure you both will have-- Tanaka would you quit crying on the floor-- a positive effect on the team” he said while squeezing in a yell towards Tanaka.

It didn’t matter though, since both boys still seemed very surprised to see Tsukiko in the gym after their strange encounter with the said girl. Especially Tsukishima who looked at the smile she wore now and compared it to the face he saw when he caught her dancing and humming to herself, how far she seemed to be now after getting a close glimpse of her features in the bright light. 

And as if she could read his thoughts, she came close to them.

“Hey, you guys” Tsukiko greeted while placing herself next to Daichi who still seemed to only be hanging by a thread, “you know there was a quicker way to the gym right? I could have told you about it if you waited”.

Tsukishima simply looked off to the side while Yamaguchi nervously smiled at the girl “as I said, he can be a lot to handle” he commented with a giggle.

“Yamaguchi” Tsukikshima yelled while turning back to his friend with an angry look, only for it to melt into surprise as he saw Tsukiko standing right in front of Yamaguchi with bright eyes and a smile as she laughed at his comment.

“I like you” she stated while linking her arm with his own, neither of them thinking much of it since they seemed to have the same good feeling about one another “I’m gonna call you yams now, yams is a good nickname”.

He nodded in approval, “now I get to have another Tsukki” he laughed then glanced at Tsukishima and whispered in Tsukiko’s ear “just don’t be too offended if Tsukki starts to get jealous” the two laughed again while Tsukishima’s face brightened into a red light.

Tsukiko giggled at the two boys and seemed to enjoy their company very much, and as Daichi witnessed this interaction, it began to put his mind at a bit more of an ease. He really did want Tsukiko to be a part of the team and share her ideas with the rest of the boys, but he could tell that she was rather off-putting on the whole situation and he simply wanted to know why. He could only think of one person who would have the answers he was begging for, he glanced back at Tsukiko, but he knew it would take a lot to convince her to release anything to him.

“Well, we should get to practicing then,” Daichi stated while clapping his hands together to get everyone's attention and gather them in the middle of the gym, “we’ll start with some basic stretches and then get into warming up before getting on the court”.

“Stretches” Tsukishima questioned with an arched brow, “wouldn’t it be a better use of our time to do some basic serves or sets on the court”?

Tanaka gave a glare to the first year and was fully prepared to begin scolding the boy for questioning the captain’s decisions, that is until Daichi himself intervened with his usual smile of authority. 

Tsukiko’s eyes sparkled a bit at Daichi’s aura, the way he carried authority and himself, sending a small opposing memory to flash in her mind as she looked at his posture and strength, silently snickering to herself as the past was way too funny when compared to this moment.

“Stretches may seem like something extra that athletes have the option to do, but really they can make all the difference,” Daichi said with his deep yet calming voice, “they can build your endurance and allow you to go farther in a game without having to switch out, or beg for more strength during a close rally. There’s reasoning behind them”.

The boys nodded and straightened their backs out as Daichi went back to explaining the stretches they would be doing, Tsukishima even nodding back and stepping in line with Yamaguchi who only smiled back at him.

“I hope you don’t mind Tsukiko” Kiyoko whispered to the girl standing next to her while pointing to the clipboard she was holding with her pen “Daichi saw the stretches you had written on the whiteboard, he didn’t think too much why they were there, but he told me to write them down so we could use them in our practices”. She took a pause to examine the lineup of steps again while the boys began counting out their stretches “this is a really good list of stretches, I never thought about how much help it could be in doing these day by day”.

“I--” Tsukiko began while looking at Kiyoko with a close eyed smile, “thank you for telling me, I don’t mind it all”. She looked at the guys again with a more natural-looking smile on her lips “would you mind if I stayed for another practice”?

Kiyoko nodded with a slight smile of her own “of course not”


	9. Lucky to have her

“Come on guys get into your places” Daichi ordered as he and the rest of the team took their stand at separate lanes of the school track, “no resting until all five laps are done” and just as he was about to take his spot in the middle, he saw another person make themself a spot on the lane next to his.

Tsukiko smiled at him as she continued to tie her pastel curls up in a neat ponytail, “I didn’t get a good run in this morning” she excused while stretching out her arms and giving the team captain a sly look “just don’t get too upset if you fall behind”.

Daichi’s curious face now turned into one of a challenge as he nodded at the girl and the two readied themselves at the start of the track, he even chuckled at hearing Tanaka growl and yell that he would be the first to finish, “Kiyoko”.

The dark-haired girl nodded from the sidelines as she held a stopwatch in hand “on your marks, get set” she took a pause at feeling a bit of adrenaline in her system “go”!

Off went everyone as their feet bounded off the ground and went straight with force, the guys using their adrenaline to get the stretch on one another. Immediately making each other want to get ahead of the other as a test of strength by speed, their calves already burning at the pressure. 

But Tsukiko still seemed to keep the lead on them, the balls of her feet seeming to keep the spring in every step she took. As Kiyoko watched her from the sidelines, she noticed the positioning of her back and how it was arched in at just the right amount, to where the wind wouldn't be fighting her and making her use more strength than she needed. It was a rather rare notion to know something like that so Kiyoko was especially taken aback when Tsukiko seemed to be doing it so easily, and seeming to have a smile on her face through it all as she did.

By the time the last lap came around, most of the boys had already been falling behind since they had burnt themselves out so early in. However, Daichi and Tanaka were still seeming to keep in rhythm with Tsukiko, not too far from her heels and congratulating themselves with the thought that they would soon be ahead of her.

As Tsukiko felt them getting closer she closed her eyes and began to heighten her senses, feeling and hearing the world around her with an even greater appreciation. Until she finally put the extra strength in her legs that she had been saving up through the other laps, getting an even greater edge on the two and bounding off with more spring in her steps. “Hey hey hey” she cheered loudly while reaching the end, blushing to herself as a memory of someone flashed in her mind, but it masked with the already present redness in her cheeks.

“Tsuki that was amazing” Yamaguchi attempted to cheer with the little air he could manage out, gripping at his knees while bent over but looking up at her with a strained smile “you were so fast”.  
“These laps.. Were just a waste” Tsukishima spoke up before having to take a deep breath as he looked up with a glare “of my time and.. Energy”.

Tsukiko bent down to the blondes level as he continued to stay hunched over and gripping at his knees as well since his legs felt like jelly “see, you wouldn’t be complaining like that if you didn’t decide to spend all your energy in the beginning” she commented while recalling Tsukishima put more emphasis on the strength of his step instead of using his long legs to his advantage “maybe next time, try using your legs” she joked with a challenging smile.

Tsukishima took a deep breath and went back to his level, looking down at Tsukiko with an evil grin “jealous pipsqueak”? He asked.

“Of being a string bean? Not quite” she retorted while holding her ground.

“Tsukiko…. How..” Tanaka tried to question the girl as he clung to his breath from the ground, his face looking like a sickly corpse as his soul seemed to be slipping from his body.

Tsukiko gave a small lopsided smile as she looked at the boy with pity from making him think he was going to get ahead of her in the race “sorry Tanaka” she apologized with a small laugh that she couldn’t contain “here, tip your head back” she told him while guiding his head down as she lifted her water bottle and allowed water to drip from it and run its trail on the top of his head down to the ground, “take some slow deep breaths” she told him while doing the same to guide his breathing, not noticing that the other boys as well began to follow her. 

Tanaka did as he was told and after a minute or two tipped his head back up and felt better as he could still feel droplets of cold water on his head “hey, that actually helped a lot” he said then looked up at Tsukiko with tears in his eyes “Tsuki-chan is an angel” he began to proclaim.

Tsukiko giggled as she stood back up to her feet “it was just some breathing exercises I picked up a few years back” she answered “nothing too special, but it’s very effective in calming a person down and regaining their normal breathing pattern”.

Kiyoko then approached the girl with a towel and new water bottle in hand, “that was amazing Tsukiko, you really showed how effective these exercises can be if done daily” the brunette congratulated while handing Tanaka a towel as well.

“Thanks, Kiyoko” Tsukiko responded with a smile “and you’re right, they really can do a lot to help train your stamina, these guys just need to work on their proper stances and how they extend their bodies” she added as she passed Tanaka the new water bottle “I’ll just go fill up the one I already have,” she told Tanaka while nodding at everyone and walking off back inside the building just as Daichi was trying to gather everyone up so they could go inside to start actual practice.

“Those guys really are too much” Tsukiko joked to herself while stepping into the hall and rocking her head side to side as she hummed an upbeat tune to herself.

“You’re acting weirder than usual”.

Tsukiko turned quickly with a smile on her face as she recognized Kageyama’s voice, “a shame you won’t know the happiness of a practice” she mocked with an innocent smile as if she had no idea about the damage that would do to the setter.

The pain of them still stung on him though as redness rushed to his face in embarrassment at what Tsukiko said “hey, don’t forget that the damn orange was also a part of that” he added to take the pressure off of him and add the guilt on someone who wasn’t even present to defend themself at the moment.

Tsukiko though grabbed Kageyama’s hand in her grip and held onto it as she gave Kageyama a close eyed smile that only spoke intimidation hidden behind a scary sweetness, “That ‘damn orange’ is my cousin, remember that” she said while putting pure pressure onto her grip of his hand, making him wince at the new pain before she decided to let go and have him hold his own limp hand “besides, he’ll be your teammate soon enough. I’d like to see you try and control that boy” she added while crossing her arms and biting the inside of her cheek as her brows knitted together in the middle.

Kageyama suddenly stopped freaking out about his hand as he heard Tsukiko’s last words and took a pause “you know” he began while straightening out his posture “I only pass to the strongest” he finally said, in fear of what the girl's response would be.

But he was surprised to look up and see her with a serious expression on her face.

“I know, that’s why you will pass to him”.

The setter released a chuckle “you sure do have a lot of confidence in him” he noted while leaning on a locker as Tsukiko filled up her water bottle.

“I do,” she said while capping her water bottle back up, smiling evilly to herself as she thought about her next comment “don’t start getting all jealous on me now just because you’re not the only one I'm cheering on now, I still believe in you too”.

“I’m not jealous” Kageyama quickly yelled back while blushing brightly at the mere mention of jealousy, he avoided the girl's gaze since he knew she would be looking back at him with evil expressions, continuing to tease him to no end. However, when he did he made immediate eye contact with the orange he had spoken of earlier, standing at the far end of the hallway as if he too was on his way to the gym that they were forbidden from. 

“Hey, what are you doing so close to my cousin” Hinata yelled as he rushed to the two with a red face, fully prepared to put up any fight he could in his cousin's honor, “you better step away from her right now”.

“She’s the one on top of me”! Was the only thing Kageyama could think.

Tsukiko though laughed at her cousin's protective reaction and simply stepped away from the tall setter to step between him and her exuberant cousin who would be fully prepared to pick a fight, “hey Hinata” she greeted the smaller boy before realizing that the two were for whatever reason oddly close to the gym, the one they weren’t allowed in for that matter “were both of you headed to the volleyball club” she asked both boys in a mocking tone as their souls began to shrink down, circling around them with a little whistle that seemed to strike even more fear in them “the one you’ve been banned from until the first year match”?

“I-- I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Hinata assured with crossed arms and pink cheeks caused by his lie.

“Hinata”

“I just wanted to take a peek at the other first years” Hinata suddenly began to excuse very quickly as he braced himself for a yelling “I wanted to know what we were up against Tsukiko, it’s not fair that I don’t even get to see them for myself”.

Kageyama chuckled at the boy's quick explanation that squealed out from fear, “what was that Kageyama” Tsukiko asked in a threatening tone that quickly muffled the laughter of the boy as his lips snapped into one straight line. She sighed, “Listen, you both did this to yourselves, and now it’s up to both of you to get yourselves out of this hole you dug” she lectured them as a professor would “besides” she added while getting out of character with her usual warmness and a giggle “they’re not all that tough” 

To which the two released a sigh of relief, before snapping back up in fear at Tsukiko going back into a tough demeanor.

“But if I see either of you lag in any way, shape, or form” she warned “you best believe that I will lock you out of the gym myself and hang wanted signs up all over to stop you from stepping anywhere near the gym”

The boys gulped.

“Am I clear”?

They nodded.

“Good,” she said finally while taking a sip from her water bottle and releasing her hair from her tight ponytail, letting the lilac curls flow back down “now, the guys are just finishing up on the track so you two should head there for some extra practice” she informed them, which made them sparkle “you didn’t hear it from me though” she added with a wink before taking her leave of the two and heading back to the gym they planned to peek at.

“Quit staring at my cousin and set for me” Hinata ordered as the two ran out of the hall, Hinata taking the lead as she assumed Kageyama chased after him for what he said.

“They’re lucky to have me”.


End file.
